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5 Islamic banks begin unified journey as Sammilito Islami Bank takes full control
Published : Sunday, 16 August, 2026 at 2:48 PM
Staff Correspondent
Sammilito Islami Bank PLC has formally started its journey as a single state-owned bank after taking full control of five troubled Islamic banks.
From Sunday, Sammilito Islami Bank will be able to operate as a single institution, Bangladesh Bank spokesman and Executive Director Arief Hossain Khan said.
“All five banks have been handed over. As all of them are now under Sammilito Islami Bank, the new bank is starting its journey as a single institution from Sunday,” he said. The central bank first withdrew the administrator from EXIM Bank on July 30. A day earlier, its board had decided to remove the administrator and his team from the bank.
The decision to bring all five banks under Sammilito Islami Bank was taken at a Bangladesh Bank board meeting on July 20.
The process then moved ahead step by step, with the central bank handing over control of the five banks to the newly formed state-owned bank. Abedur Rahman Sikder was appointed managing director of Sammilito Islami Bank on July 16. He will lead the new institution.
The government has already provided Tk20,000 crore in capital support to the new bank.
The IT integration will eventually allow all five banks to operate fully under the single name of Sammilito Islami Bank.
The five banks are EXIM Bank, First Security Islami Bank, Global Islami Bank, Union Bank and Social Islami Bank.
Bangladesh Bank on Saturday withdrew the administrators from Global Islami Bank and Union Bank, handing over their control to Sammilito Islami Bank. With this, all five banks have now come under the new bank.
From Sunday, Sammilito Islami Bank will be able to operate as a single institution, Bangladesh Bank spokesman and Executive Director Arief Hossain Khan said.
“All five banks have been handed over. As all of them are now under Sammilito Islami Bank, the new bank is starting its journey as a single institution from Sunday,” he said. The central bank first withdrew the administrator from EXIM Bank on July 30. A day earlier, its board had decided to remove the administrator and his team from the bank.
The decision to bring all five banks under Sammilito Islami Bank was taken at a Bangladesh Bank board meeting on July 20.
The process then moved ahead step by step, with the central bank handing over control of the five banks to the newly formed state-owned bank. Abedur Rahman Sikder was appointed managing director of Sammilito Islami Bank on July 16. He will lead the new institution.
The merger gives the new bank a huge nationwide network, with 760 branches, 698 sub-branches, 511 agent banking outlets and 975 ATMs.
But the bank is also starting with a massive burden of bad loans.
According to Bangladesh Bank data, the five banks had total defaulted loans of Tk1.66 lakh crore at the end of March this year. Their combined default loan ratio was an alarming 84.22 per cent.
Sammilito Islami Bank has authorised capital of Tk35,000 crore.
The government has already provided Tk20,000 crore in capital support to the new bank.
The merger process began last November when then Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur declared the shares of the five banks worthless. On the same day, the central bank appointed administrators and their teams to run the banks.
In December, the government gave a licence to Sammilito Islami Bank as a state-owned Shariah-based bank.
Nearly nine months later, Bangladesh Bank has completed the process of withdrawing the administrators from the five banks.
The next major challenge is to bring the five banks’ separate IT systems together. Until that happens, the banks will continue to provide services under their existing names, even though they are now under the control of Sammilito Islami Bank.
The IT integration will eventually allow all five banks to operate fully under the single name of Sammilito Islami Bank.
SH/TF
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Editor : Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury
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Published by the Editor on behalf of the Observer Ltd. from Globe Printers, 24/A, New Eskaton Road, Ramna, Dhaka.
Editorial, News and Commercial Offices : Aziz Bhaban (2nd floor), 93, Motijheel C/A, Dhaka-1000.
Phone: PABX- 41053001-06; Advertisement: 41053012; 01793317829, 01550707291, E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] Online: email: [email protected] 41053014; 01550707297 Advertisement: 01550707296
