Bangladesh Bank has instructed five Shariah-based banks, recently merged into Sammilito Islami Bank PLC, to declare the shares of their existing shareholders as zero, after assessments revealed that the net asset value (NAV) of these shares is negative. The affected banks are First Security Islami, Social Islami, Global Islami, Union, and EXIM, according to a letter sent today by the central bank.
Executive Director and spokesperson Areif Hossain Khan confirmed that the directive was issued under the Bank Resolution Ordinance 2025. “The assessment clearly showed that the share value of these five banks was negative,” he said. “Considering this, shareholders’ shares have now been written down to zero.”
Earlier, in November, Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur had announced that shareholders of the merged banks would not receive any stake in the newly formed entity, as the NAV per share had already fallen between Tk 350 and Tk 420. “The central bank is not taking them into consideration, as they hold zero liability,” Mansur stated. “No shareholder of the merged banks will get anything.”
The decision has caused significant financial losses to shareholders. The total face value loss—the value assigned when shares were initially issued—is estimated at Tk 4,500 crore, while the market value loss is approximately Tk 1,022 crore, as the shares had been trading well below their face value prior to the merger. Following the merger order, trading of these bank shares on the Dhaka and Chattogram stock exchanges was suspended last month.
On 30 November, Bangladesh Bank granted the final licence for Sammilito Islami Bank, making it the country’s largest state-owned Shariah-based lender. The central bank noted that this approval is part of a broader banking sector reform programme, launched in September 2024, aimed at restoring governance, enforcing accountability, and instilling discipline across the financial system.
The merged bank’s authorised capital is Tk 40,000 crore, represented by 4,000 crore shares at Tk 10 each, while the paid-up capital is Tk 35,000 crore, funded by the government and converted deposits from previous banks and institutional investors.
Sammilito Islami Bank: Share Structure and Contributions
| Share Class | Source of Capital | Amount (Tk crore) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class-A | Government contribution | 20,000 | Paid-up capital from state allocation |
| Class-B | Permanent deposits from transferring banks & FIs | 7,500 | Converted deposits from other depositors |
| Class-C | Institutional depositors (excluding banks, FIs, multinationals) | 7,500 | Converted specially to capital |
Bangladesh Bank emphasised that the merger and the write-down of shares are critical steps to stabilise the banking sector, protect depositors, and ensure a disciplined, transparent financial system moving forward.