Sammilito Islami Bank Readies Tk5,000cr as Withdrawal Hits Tk4,000cr in 4 Days

🏦 Dhaka, Bangladesh — Sammilito Islamic Bank has received nearly Tk5,000 crore from Bangladesh Bank to repay deposits, while customers have sought to withdraw Tk3,925 crore over the past four working days — significantly lower than the bank’s expectations, signalling continued customer trust in the newly-formed state-owned lender.

📊 According to a senior Bangladesh Bank official who confirmed the figures to The Business Standard, 74,221 customers have applied to withdraw Tk3,925 crore since 1 September 2026. The daily breakdown shows applications declining steadily:

• 📅 Day 1: 18,046 applications worth Tk1,329 crore
• 📅 Day 2: 19,613 applications worth Tk1,016 crore
• 📅 Day 3: 21,086 applications worth Tk923 crore
• 📅 Day 4: 15,476 applications worth Tk657 crore

💬 Bank MD: Lower Than Expected Shows Trust

💬 Md Abedur Rahman Sikder, Managing Director of Sammilito Islamic Bank, said: “Figures are much lower than our expectations, which shows customer trust and confidence in us.”

✅ He said the bank had adequate preparations at branches of its five constituent banks and applications had declined gradually. The bank has nearly Tk10,000 crore in its current account with Bangladesh Bank, of which Tk5,000 crore was transferred on 6 September to the five banks’ accounts.

💬 “The government owns this bank. Customers will transact with this bank with the same confidence they have in other state-owned banks,” the official said.

💰 Withdrawal Rules: Principal Only Before Maturity

📋 The withdrawal rules are designed to balance depositor access with the bank’s stability:

• ⏳ Customers withdrawing before maturity will receive only the principal
• 📅 Those keeping deposits until maturity will receive profits as agreed
• 💳 Customers can withdraw cash or transfer funds to other banks through RTGS
• 👥 Individual depositors can withdraw principal from Al-Wadiah current, Mudaraba savings, MTDR, DPS and other accounts

✅ The bank accepted applications until 6 September to complete cash and branch preparations and will begin payments on 7 September. Customers keeping accounts open will continue receiving profits at agreed rates; once operations fully resume, deposits and withdrawals, including profits, will be allowed without limits.

🏛 The Bangladesh Bank’s Bank Resolution Department issued the directive on 31 August.

🏛 Sammilito Islami Bank: A Mega Merger Rescue

🤝 Sammilito Islamic Bank was formed under the interim government after five troubled private banks — Exim Bank, Social Islami Bank, First Security Islami Bank, Global Islami Bank and Union Bank — failed to return deposits amid irregularities and fraud allegations.

📊 The scale of the merged entity is significant:

• 👥 7.6 million depositors
• 💰 Tk1.42 lakh crore in deposits
• 💸 Tk1.92 lakh crore in loans
• ⚠ 86% of loans in default — an extraordinarily high NPL ratio
• 💹 Capital shortfall exceeding Tk1.5 lakh crore

🏛 The state-owned bank began operations in November 2025 with Tk40,000 crore authorised and Tk35,000 crore paid-up capital, including Tk20,000 crore from the government and Tk15,000 crore to be issued as depositor shares.

🌏 Strategic Context for Bangladesh Banking

📊 The relatively modest withdrawal pressure — Tk3,925 crore against Tk1.42 lakh crore in total deposits — is a positive signal for Bangladesh’s banking sector stability. It suggests that despite the well-publicised troubles of the five constituent banks, depositors have retained confidence in the government-backed rescue vehicle.

✅ For Bangladesh Bank, the lower-than-expected withdrawal pressure validates the regulator’s strategy of consolidating the five troubled banks into a single state-owned entity with explicit government backing — rather than triggering a chaotic liquidation that could have wiped out depositors and destabilised the broader financial system.

💰 For the broader economy, several implications flow from this resolution:

• 💪 Deposit confidence: Government backing of distressed banks preserves systemic trust
• 🤝 Banking sector clean-up: Mega merger removes toxic assets from private banking
• 📈 Credit flow: Once stabilised, Sammilito can resume productive lending
• 🌏 Fiscal cost: Tk20,000 crore government capital injection represents a significant fiscal commitment

⚠ However, the bank’s 86% NPL ratio and Tk1.5 lakh crore capital shortfall remain massive challenges. Recovery from defaulting borrowers, restructuring of bad loans, and gradual recapitalisation will be a multi-year process requiring sustained political and regulatory commitment.

✅ For now, the early withdrawal data suggests that the immediate crisis has been contained. With Tk5,000 crore already transferred to constituent banks and a further Tk5,000 crore buffer available, Sammilito Islami Bank appears positioned to manage the withdrawal wave without triggering fresh instability — a critical milestone in Bangladesh’s most ambitious banking sector rescue to date.