B Mirror Report : Depositors of the five banks currently in the process of merging will not receive any profit on their deposits for 2024 and 2025.
Following international practices, Bangladesh Bank has decided to apply a two-year “haircut” on depositors’ profit, which means a portion of the deposits will be withheld as part of the merger process.
On Wednesday (January 14), the central bank sent a letter to the administrators of the five banks regarding this matter. The letter also instructed the banks to recalculate all depositors’ accounts.
Bangladesh Bank stated that such haircut measures are followed globally during bank mergers, and the same principle has been applied in Bangladesh.
These banks have been merged to form a new bank called “Summilito Islami Bank” (Combined Islami Bank). The liabilities, assets, and staff of these banks will be transferred to the newly formed bank, and after the merger process is complete, the original five banks will gradually cease to exist.
The letter from the Bank Resolution Department stated that as part of the ongoing Bank Resolution Scheme, all deposit accounts will be reassessed. According to the decision, no profit will be calculated on deposits between January 1, 2024, and December 28, 2025, and the final balance will be determined after applying the prescribed haircut. Banks have been instructed to complete this recalculation process promptly to ensure uniform and fair implementation of the resolution scheme.
A Bangladesh Bank official said that depositors of these five banks will not earn any profit for 2024 and 2025, and the deposit balances will be determined after excluding the two-year profit.
According to the scheme announced by Bangladesh Bank, the authorized capital of the new bank formed by merging the five Islamic banks has been set at Tk 40,000 crore, of which Tk 35,000 crore will be paid-up capital. The government has already provided Tk 20,000 crore as paid-up capital, which will be considered “Class A” shares under the resolution scheme.
A portion of the permanent deposits from depositors of the five banks and financial institutions amounting to Tk 7,500 crore will be converted into shares, counted as “Class B” shares. Additionally, Tk 7,500 crore from permanent deposits of other institutional depositors outside the banks and financial institutions will also be converted into shares, classified as “Class C” shares.
The scheme states that the head office of the newly formed Summilito Islami Bank will be located at the Shena Kalyan Bhaban in Motijheel, Dhaka. Deposits up to Tk 2 lakh will be fully withdrawable at any time after the merger becomes effective, while for deposits above Tk 2 lakh, Tk 1 lakh can be withdrawn every three months, with a maximum withdrawal limit of two years. The same schedule will apply to institutional depositors.
Regarding term and permanent deposits, the scheme states that up to 20% of such deposits can be used for investments or loan facilities. Term and permanent deposits will be automatically renewed or converted into long-term deposits as per their tenure. Deposits with a term exceeding four years will become withdrawable upon maturity.
