The process of the transfer of bank accounts of depositors of five Islamic banks now being merged into -the newly created Sammilito Islami Bank is almost at its final stage.

The transfer of all the accounts is expected to be finalised within the next week.

These banks are First Security Islami Bank, Social Islami Bank, Exim Bank, Global Islami Bank and Union Bank, Account holders will transfer their accounts from these banks to Sammilito Islamic Bank.

If the work is completed within the next week, bank accounts of customers in the existing five banks will be automatically transferred to the newly formed Sammilito Islami Bank. As a result, depositors will get the opportunity to withdraw up to a maximum of Tk 200,000 with their existing check books.

The remaining deposits (if any) will be protected in their bank accounts and profit will be paid on those deposits at the prevailing rate.

Being a state-owned bank, it is expected that public will have confidence in the newly formed bank and demand of depositors to withdraw money will be reduced to a large extent, said Bangladesh Bank Spokesperson and Executive Director Arif Hossain Khan.
The five banks that are going for merge have 7,500,000 depositors who are having Tk 1,42,000 crore in their accounts. They have a loan of Tk 1,93,000 crore together. Of this, Tk 1,47,000 crore or 76 per cent is now default loans. These banks have a security reserve deficit of Tk 74,501 crore.

These banks have 760 branches, 698 sub-branches, 511 agent banking outlets and 975 ATM booths across the country. Among the banks, Union Bank has the highest 98 per cent of default loans.

First Security Islami Bank has 97 per cent defauls loans, Global Islami Bank has 95 per cent, Social Islami Bank has 62.30 per cent and Exim Bank has 48.20 per cent..

Refunds to depositors of the five merged Islamic banks will start from next week. Initially, customers will be able to withdraw up to Tk 200,000 at a time under deposit insurance.

An official of Bangladesh Bank, on condition of anonymity, said the complexity of deposit refund process being removed. As a result, banks are expected to start paying money from next week, i.e. Monday or Tuesday. This money will be paid under deposit insurance.

He said customers will be able to withdraw money from their respective bank branches. However, if a customer has more than one account in a bank, then he can withdraw money from only one account. And if someone has accounts in more than one bank, then he will get the opportunity to withdraw a specified amount of money from each bank.

The concerned official of the central bank said customers whose accounts have Tk 200,000 or less will be able to withdraw the entire amount at time. And those whose accounts have more than Tk 200,000, can withdraw a maximum of Tk 100,000 every three months for two years.

However, this limit has been relaxed for customers over 60 years or depositors suffering from cancer or critical diseases – they can withdraw any amount.

The paid-up capital of Sammilito Islami Bank PLC is Tk 35,000 crore. Of this, the government is providing Tk 20,000 crore and the remaining Tk 15,000 crore will come from shares of the depositors.