First Security Islami Bank (FSIB) on Tuesday expressed support for Bangladesh Bank鈥檚 plan to its merger with other banks.
The bank鈥檚 chairman, Mohammad Abdul Mannan, conveyed this position in a meeting with Bangladesh Bank governor Ahsan H Mansur at the central bank headquarters in Dhaka.
Deputy governor Kabir Ahmed and senior officials of relevant departments were also present.
This was the third in a series of scheduled meetings with the five banks identified for merger.
Meetings with EXIM Bank and Social Islami Bank were earlier postponed due to the governor鈥檚 illness.
Bangladesh Bank is set to meet Union Bank on Wednesday and Global Islami Bank on Thursday.
Fresh dates will later be announced for the rescheduled discussions with EXIM and Social Islami Bank.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Abdul Mannan said, 鈥榃e have no disagreement with the decision taken by Bangladesh Bank. The central bank will ensure the protection of depositors鈥� interests.鈥�
He admitted that FSIB鈥檚 troubles stemmed from massive loans taken by the S Alam Group under anonymous arrangements.
S Alam withdrew Tk 38,000 crore from FSIB anonymously, as they could not take it under their own name. Because these loans remain unpaid, the bank has fallen into such a crisis, he said.
Bangladesh Bank has moved to merge five shariah-based commercial banks, citing their fragile financial position, poor governance, and inability to meet depositor demands.
聽FSIB is the first among the identified banks to formally support the merger decision.