A once-profitable Social Islami Bank (SIBL) has been deliberately weakened over the past seven to eight years, with both the S Alam business group and Bangladesh Bank equally blamed for its decline, according to former chairman Major Dr. Rezaul Haque (Retd.) and his lawyer.
Mismanagement, corruption, and regulatory inaction have left the bank burdened with non-performing loans, threatening depositors and associated businesses, and they urge the bank be returned to its original owners with new investment to enable recovery.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday at the National Press Club, Advocate Md. Mahmudul Hasan, lawyer of Major Dr. Rezaul Haque, alleged that SIBL’s destruction was intentional.
“Both S Alam and the central bank are 50 percent responsible. Instead of stopping irregularities, they openly witnessed corruption. Yet, no official or banker has been held accountable,” he said.
After the new government took office on August 5, they hoped the looting would stop, but non-cooperation from former Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H. Mansur hindered recovery.
Responsibility was handed to inexperienced administrators, who followed central bank directives without prioritizing the bank’s interests, leaving SIBL in a precarious state, they said.
The lawyer said that the bank’s large non-performing loans and central bank borrowings mean it needs at least eight years to turn around.
“Large industrial groups, including IDB, are interested in investing. With proper management, the bank could recover without relying on printed money from the central bank,” Hasan noted.
In a written statement, former Major Dr. Rezaul Haque accused the current administrators of effectively killing the bank and placing the burden of S Alam’s corruption on ordinary investors.
Shareholders were reduced to zero, while depositors and business clients faced existential threats due to lack of support. Many businesses, unable to secure loans elsewhere, were forced to close, he said.
He urged the government to exclude SIBL from merger processes and allow rightful owners to manage recovery.
The former chairman also stressed that despite assurances, depositors’ money has not been returned, and called for a swift government intervention to restore the bank, protect investors, and save affiliated businesses.
