Sammilito Islami Bank Sets Up War-Room Desk to Boost Investment Recovery

Dhaka, August 16, 2026 — Sammilito Islami Bank PLC has formed a dedicated desk, titled “Collection & Recovery War-Room”, to accelerate and strengthen its investment collection and recovery activities and make them more effective and results-oriented. Abedur Rahman Sikder, Managing Director of the bank, inaugurated the desk at a ceremony held at the bank's corporate headquarters in Dhaka.

🏛️ The War-Room Concept

The “War-Room” designation signals the urgency and priority that Sammilito Islami Bank is placing on investment recovery. The concept draws from military and crisis management terminology — where a “war room” represents a dedicated command centre for addressing critical challenges with maximum focus and resources.

• 🏢 Dedicated desk — Collection & Recovery War-Room
• 👥 Accelerated recovery — faster investment collection activities
• 👥 Results-oriented approach — more effective recovery outcomes
• 🏛️ High priority — treated as one of the bank's highest priorities
• 📜 Corporate headquarters — based at bank's head office in Dhaka

💼 MD's Statement

Speaking at the inauguration, Abedur Rahman Sikder said: “Collection & Recovery should not be viewed merely as a routine banking activity; rather, it must be treated as one of our highest priorities.”

The MD's framing elevates recovery from a routine operational task to a strategic priority — reflecting the bank's recognition that without aggressive recovery, its financial health cannot be restored. The press release also indicated that the War-Room desk would be staffed by dedicated recovery specialists — separate from the bank's regular lending and operations teams — to ensure focused attention on identifying, pursuing, and resolving non-performing accounts. The bank plans to track recovery progress through specific metrics, regular reporting to senior management, and performance-based incentives for recovery staff.

The ceremony was attended by senior bank officials, department heads, and recovery team members — signalling bank-wide commitment to the recovery initiative. The bank's board has reportedly approved additional resources and authority for the War-Room desk to negotiate settlements, pursue legal action where necessary, and work with BB and courts to expedite recovery proceedings against wilful defaulters.

📊 Context: Sammilito Islami Bank's Challenges

Sammilito Islami Bank — formed through the merger of three struggling Islamic banks (Social Islami Bank, Global Islami Bank, and Union Bank) — inherited significant non-performing loan portfolios and governance challenges from its predecessor institutions. The War-Room initiative represents the bank's response to these inherited problems:

• 🏭 Merger of 3 banks — Social Islami Bank, Global Islami Bank, Union Bank
• 📉 Inherited NPLs — significant non-performing loans from predecessors
• 🚧 Governance challenges — from predecessor institutions' mismanagement
• 💰 Investment recovery priority — recovering funds from defaulting borrowers
• 🤝 Depositor confidence — restoring trust through visible recovery action

🌐 Strategic Context: Islamic Banking Sector Reform

The War-Room initiative comes amid broader Islamic banking sector reforms in Bangladesh. The BB has been addressing challenges across Shariah-compliant banks — including governance, NPLs, and capital adequacy. Sammilito Islami Bank's aggressive recovery approach signals that the merged institution is taking its rehabilitation seriously:

• 🏭 Merger framework — BB's consolidation of struggling Islamic banks
• 📜 Recovery priority — War-Room signals urgency of NPL resolution
• 👥 Depositor protection — recovery funds protect depositors
• 💰 Capital restoration — recovered funds rebuild capital base
• 🤝 Investor confidence — visible action supports market trust

For Bangladesh's broader financial sector, the War-Room initiative represents a positive signal — that merged and restructured institutions are actively working to address inherited problems rather than simply waiting for BB resolution. If successful, the aggressive recovery approach could serve as a model for other struggling banks and NBFIs facing similar NPL challenges — demonstrating that institutional turnaround is possible through focused, priority-driven action.

The War-Room approach also reflects a broader trend in Bangladesh's banking sector — where institutions are increasingly adopting dedicated, specialised recovery mechanisms rather than treating NPL resolution as a routine function dispersed across regular banking operations. By centralising recovery expertise in a dedicated desk, Sammilito Islami Bank can focus specialised skills, dedicated resources, and management attention on what is arguably the bank's most critical operational challenge. The success of this approach will be measured by the bank's ability to reduce its classified loan portfolio, restore capital adequacy, and ultimately return to profitability — transforming from a distressed institution into a viable contributor to Bangladesh's Islamic banking sector.

For depositors and investors, the War-Room initiative provides visible evidence that the bank's management is taking recovery seriously — which is critical for maintaining depositor confidence during the challenging period of post-merger integration. The BB's ongoing supervision of merged Islamic banks will be watching closely to see whether the War-Room approach delivers measurable recovery results in the coming months.