Bangladesh Bank has decided to withdraw administrators from five merged Islamic banks by mid-August 2026. The decision was made during a meeting between Governor Mostakur Rahman and the boards of the five banks at the central bank’s headquarters. The process will be implemented gradually, starting with EXIM Bank next week. Some central bank officials, however, believe administrators should remain longer due to incomplete implementation of the core banking system.

The five banks—EXIM, Social Islami, First Security Islami, Union, and Global Islami—were merged last year into the ‘Combined Islami Bank’ after severe financial irregularities under previous private control. The government injected Tk 20,000 crore into the new entity, while depositors were promised shares worth Tk 15,000 crore. Additionally, Tk 12,000 crore from the deposit insurance fund is being used to repay small depositors.

As of now, 822,000 depositors have received Tk 3,887 crore in repayments. Despite these efforts, the merged banks still face high non-performing loans, totaling Tk 170,500 crore, or 87.43 percent of total loans, raising concerns about their financial stability.