Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr. Ahsan H. Mansur announced today (November 29) that a new commercial bank, formed through the merger of five Shariah-based banks, is set to be officially launched this week.
The Governor made the announcement while speaking as the chief guest at the '4th Economic Summit' held at a city hotel.
The initiative utilizes the Bank Resolution Ordinance to combine the five institutions into a single new entity.
The goal is to create one strong bank from five currently weak banks. The new commercial bank will possess a substantial paid-up capital of Tk35,000 crore (350 billion), with the government contributing Tk20,000 crore (200 billion).
Dr. Mansur also addressed a major systemic issue, noting that non-performing loans (NPLs) remain a significant problem, currently standing at 35%.3 He acknowledged that resolving this pervasive issue will require a long-term commitment, estimating it will take five to ten years to fully address the NPL crisis.
