Refunds of Deposits from Integrated Islami Bank to Begin Next Week

Dec 26, 2025
Business

Symbolic Image: Integrated Islami Bank (Collected)

Staff Report: PNN

The process of returning deposits to customers of the newly merged “Sammlito Islami Bank,” formed by the integration of five distressed Islamic banks, will begin next week. In the initial phase, under the deposit insurance scheme, customers will be able to withdraw a maximum of BDT 200,000 in a single installment.

A senior official of Bangladesh Bank confirmed on Thursday that, after resolving necessary procedural complexities, withdrawals will be available from the respective bank branches starting Monday or Tuesday.

According to Bangladesh Bank, customers with deposits of BDT 200,000 or less can withdraw the entire amount at once. For those with deposits exceeding BDT 200,000, withdrawals will be allowed in installments of up to BDT 100,000 every three months for a maximum of two years.

Special considerations have been made for customers over 60 years old and those suffering from cancer or other serious illnesses, allowing them to withdraw beyond the prescribed limits if needed.

The official further stated that even if a customer has multiple accounts in the same bank, they can withdraw only from one account. However, if the customer holds separate accounts in different merged banks, they can withdraw the prescribed amount from each bank.

The banks merged under this structure are: EXIM Bank, Social Islami Bank, First Security Islami Bank, Global Islami Bank, and Union Bank. These banks had long faced financial crises, prompting Bangladesh Bank to authorize the merger.

According to Bangladesh Bank, the paid-up capital of the new bank is set at BDT 35,000 crore, of which BDT 20,000 crore comes from the government and BDT 15,000 crore from the depositors’ shares. The authorized capital is BDT 40,000 crore. The new bank’s head office will be located at the Sena Kalyan Bhaban in Dhaka.

Currently, these five banks have around 7.5 million depositors. Total deposits amount to BDT 142,000 crore, while loans total BDT 193,000 crore, a significant portion of which is non-performing. Nationwide, the banks have 760 branches, 698 sub-branches, 511 agent banking outlets, and 975 ATMs. After the merger, duplicate branches in the same area will be reduced to one or two. To save costs, salaries and allowances of employees have already been reduced by 20%.

Bangladesh Bank hopes that this process will gradually restore depositors’ confidence and ensure the new bank moves toward stability.