The government has moved with unusual haste to operationalise the proposed Sammilito Islami Bank, pushing regulatory boundaries and forcing Bangladesh Bank to open a current account for an institution that does not yet legally exist.
The hurried execution, driven by the Ministry of Finance, marks the first time in the central bank’s history that a commercial bank has been given a BB current account before receiving a licence.
The shariah-based merger bank – set to combine five liquidity-starved Islamic lenders –received its letter of intent on 9 November. Eighteen days later, on 27 November, a current account was quietly created at the central bank’s Accounts and Budgeting Department, even though the bank has not deposited its paid-up capital, secured its incorporation certificate, or completed any of the mandatory steps required for a licence.
A senior Bangladesh Bank official told that the step blatantly contradicts established rules. Under normal procedure, a bank must first deposit its paid-up capital with a scheduled bank, submit its incorporation papers, and then wait for the regulator’s approval.
“This is the first time in Bangladesh Bank’s history that a current account has been opened before a licence,” the official said, requesting anonymity.
No funds have been deposited in the new account, and the proposed institution has yet to present its certificate of incorporation – both legal prerequisites for licensing. Yet the ministry is pushing the process on an accelerated track.
An official at the Ministry of Finance insisted that “all formalities are being processed simultaneously” and that nothing is being done “desperately.”
Inside Bangladesh Bank, that justification has found little traction. Another senior official told TIMES the ministry wants the licensing done before a scheduled board meeting of the proposed bank on November 30. “That’s likely why everything is being rushed,” he said.
The haste has already forced embarrassing corrections. The ministry initially formed a seven-member board without checking that two of its nominees – Finance Division Secretary Md Khairuzzaman Mozumder and Financial Institutions Division Secretary Nazma Mobarek – sit on Bangladesh Bank’s own board of directors.
Under the BB Order 1972, no individual may sit on two boards simultaneously. Both were subsequently removed and replaced by a former secretary and a serving secretary, though the shareholding structure remains unchanged.
Official documents show the unconventional state-owned bank will have 20 billion shares. Six directors will hold one share each, while the finance secretary will hold the rest –effectively placing overwhelming state control over the merged entity.
Behind the scenes, central bank officials say the speed of the process reflects political urgency rather than regulatory readiness. As one of them put it, “Rules are being bent to make a bank functional before it is even legally born.”
