Sammilito Islami Bank depositors demand roadmap for refund of funds

Victim depositors of the five merged banks under Sammilito Islami Bank have demanded the immediate issuance of an official notification cancelling the declared “haircut” mechanism on deposits and implementing the decision through Bangladesh Bank. At the same time, they called for a clear roadmap to refund all types of matured deposits�"including FDRs, DPS and MTDRs�"along with accrued profits.

On Tuesday (July 21) morning, the aggrieved depositors held a demonstration in front of Bangladesh Bank. Later, they marched to the National Press Club and staged a sit-in. From there, a five-member delegation visited the Secretariat and submitted a memorandum to the Finance and Planning Minister.

The memorandum stated that although the cancellation of the “haircut” policy was announced during the budget discussion in Parliament on July 8, the decision has not yet been officially implemented. The depositors therefore demanded the prompt issuance of a gazette notification to formalise the decision. They also urged the cancellation of proposals to recalculate deposit profits and called for the resumption of normal banking operations, similar to those of other scheduled banks.

Depositors alleged that they had been unable to withdraw their own money for nearly two years. As a result, many families are facing severe financial distress and struggling to cover medical expenses, children’s education and daily living costs.

They further demanded that the Governor of Bangladesh Bank, as well as the Chairman and newly appointed Managing Director of Sammilito Islami Bank, issue necessary instructions swiftly regarding the refund of deposits. They also insisted that all funds provisioned under the “haircut” arrangement be returned in full to depositors.

The memorandum noted that meeting their demands would help restore customer confidence in Sammilito Islami Bank and allow depositors to resume normal banking transactions.