Sammilita Islami Bank PLC; the new entity formed through the merger of five financially distressed Islamic banks, has received its final approval from Bangladesh Bank.

The approval was granted on Sunday at a special board meeting chaired by Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Ahsan H Mansur.

The newly formed bank is expected to begin full-scale operations in the first week of December.

The five banks being consolidated into the new entity are First Security Islami Bank, Global Islami Bank, Social Islami Bank, EXIM Bank and Union Bank.

As part of the preparation, Bangladesh Bank has already opened designated accounts for the new bank at its Motijheel office.

The headquarters of Sammilita Islami Bank has been established at Sena Kalyan Bhaban in Dhaka’s Motijheel.
According to the central bank, the merged institution will have a Paid-Up Capital of Tk 35,000 crore; Tk 20,000 crore injected by the government and Tk 15,000 crore contributed through depositors’ shares. The initial authorised capital has been set at Tk 40,000 crore.