Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- The central bank has formed a new board for Islami Bank Bangladesh with the appointment of five independent directors at the ‘troubled’ Shariah-based lender.
Md Obayed Ullah Al Masud, former managing director of Rupali Bank, has been appointed as the chairman of the board, according to an ordered issued by the Bangladesh Bank (BB) on Thursday.
The central bank constituted the board just same day after dissolving the previous one.
Mr. Masud has also been appointed as an independent director.
Other independent directors are Mohammad Khurshid Wahab, former executive officer of Bangladesh Bank, Mohammad Abdul Jalil, former deputy general manager of Al Arafah Islami Bank, M Masud Rahman, former professor of finance department at Dhaka University, and Md Abdus Salam, a chattered account.
Meanwhile, S Alam Group's grip over the Islami Bank ended after seven years of its domination and rampant misappropriation of nearly a hundred thousand crores of taka in the name of loans following this decision.
Earlier on Wednesday, BB Governor Ahsan H Mansur said the central bank will dissolve the board of Islami Bank within a couple of days and all S Alam Group’s shares of the bank will now be under the government's control.
"Islami Bank's board will be dissolved and independent directors will be appointed for a short period of time. Subsequently, former directors holding 2.0 per cent of share capital will be taken on the board," the governor told reporter at the briefing.
Currently, among the directors, former shareholders do not hold 2.0 per cent or more shares, due to which the independent director will be brought in, he added.
The BB’s latest moves come amid unrest in the largest Shariah-based bank in Bangladesh following the political changeover early this month.
Protestors demanded a restructuring of the board and removal of the top management of Islami Bank, which was taken over in 2017 by S Alam Group Chairman Mohammed Saiful Alam, his family members and the group's associated entities under the patronage of the previous Awami League government.