Published: 12:17 AM, 13 June 2026
BB Governor pledges swift restructuring to protect depositors of combined Islamic banks
Bangladesh Bank Governor Md. Mostakur Rahman on Friday moved to restore market confidence, pledging that a structural resolution to release frozen funds to depositors of five combined Islamic banks will be finalized in the near future.
The central bank chief made the announcement during a post-budget press briefing at the capital's Osmani Memorial Auditorium following the presentation of the FY 2026-27 national budget. The banking sector's liquidity crunch and regulatory oversight dominated the macroeconomic discussions.
Addressing widespread speculation, the Governor strongly rebuffed digital media narratives claiming that state-led oversight and restructuring measures for the five under-fire Islamic institutions had been shelved under the current administration.
"The narrative circulating on social media that work regarding the five combined Islamic banks has ceased is fundamentally incorrect," he asserted, emphasizing that specialized regulatory interventions remain strictly active.
The Governor outlined a sequence of administrative disruptions that have complicated the central bank's intervention strategy over the past quarter. "Shortly after I assumed office, the Chairman of the combined Islamic banks resigned," he disclosed. "Subsequently, a candidate selected to step in as Managing Director (MD) ultimately declined the position."
To stave off institutional paralysis across the five balance sheets, the central bank bypassed traditional transitional delays, issuing an open market recruitment notice with a strict application deadline of March 25.
"The rigorous vetting, credential verification, and fit-and-proper compliance checks required substantial time," Rahman stated, explaining the operational lag. "A permanent MD was successfully confirmed and installed by late May."
In a critical milestone for the restructuring process, the newly reconstituted boards of directors for the respective financial institutions convened their latest statutory meeting last Tuesday. Central bank officials view the resumption of board-level governance as the final administrative prerequisite before executing a capital-repatriation and liquidity-release roadmap for the banks' anxious deposit base.
The post-budget press briefing was heavily attended by senior government ministers, state advisers, and top-tier bureaucrats representing the administration's fiscal and economic high command.
