Bangladesh Bank has allowed ordinary depositors of Sammilito Islami Bank PLC to withdraw the principal amount of their deposits in a one-time payment, but no profit will be paid along with the principal.

The central bank issued a circular letter on Monday (August 31) through its Bank Resolution Department. The directive was sent to the managing directors and chief executive officers of all scheduled banks and finance companies.

Under the Bank Resolution Scheme, 2025, individual depositors can withdraw the balances of their current and savings accounts and the principal amount of fixed-term deposits. However, any profit accrued or payable against those deposits will not be included in the withdrawal.

Bangladesh Bank said the transferee bank must pay the principal amount deposited by customers with the five banks that were merged to form Sammilito Islami Bank.

A depositor who withdraws the principal under this facility will be considered to have received full and final settlement from Sammilito Islami Bank. No further claim against the account will be accepted later.

If a depositor has any outstanding loan or liability with the transferor banks, the amount must first be adjusted against the deposit. The remaining balance will then be paid to the customer.

Individual depositors can apply to their respective branches between September 1 and 7 to withdraw their principal, according to instructions from the bank’s head office.

After verification, one-time withdrawal of the full principal amount will begin on September 7.

Customers will be able to withdraw principal from Al-Wadiah current accounts, Mudaraba savings accounts, MTDRs and DPS accounts.

However, customers who keep their accounts active will remain eligible to receive profit at the rate specified in their agreements. Once the bank’s operations return to normal, customers will be allowed to deposit and withdraw funds, including profits, as applicable.

To restore customer confidence, the bank has instructed branches to observe September 1 as a special day. Branches and sub-branches have been asked to maintain a welcoming environment, while officials will receive customers with flowers or gifts.

Priority services have also been ordered for senior citizens, women and customers with disabilities.

Sammilito Islami Bank was formed by merging EXIM Bank, Social Islami Bank, First Security Islami Bank, Global Islami Bank and Union Bank, all of which faced severe financial difficulties amid allegations of irregularities and fraud.

The five banks had around 7.6 million depositors with total deposits of about Tk 1.42 trillion. Individual depositors held around Tk 150 billion in savings accounts, while approximately 86 percent of the banks’ total loans were classified as defaulted.

The government-owned Sammilito Islami Bank began operations in November 2025. It has authorised capital of Tk 400 billion and paid-up capital of Tk 350 billion, with the government contributing Tk 200 billion. Depositors are expected to receive shares against the remaining Tk 150 billion.