Sammilito Islami Bank Files 10,000 Lawsuits to Recover Bad Debt
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Sammilito Islami Bank PLC has filed nearly 10,000 lawsuits across Bangladesh to recover defaulted loans following the state-backed merger of five troubled Islamic lenders.
The newly formed entity began operations with a paid-up capital of Tk 35,000 crore, backed by Tk 20,000 crore from state coffers and Tk 15,000 crore from depositors. Legal filings form the primary pillar of the recovery push, supported by alternative dispute resolution mechanisms and a formal exit policy supervised by Bangladesh Bank.
Forensic Audits and Depositor Access
Bangladesh Bank confirmed that a comprehensive forensic audit is nearing completion. The investigation targets loan fraud, asset misappropriation, and operational irregularities carried out under the prior ownership and management of the merged institutions. The central bank’s Bank Resolution Department reviewed recovery milestones during a progress assessment this week.
Individual depositors will gain access to their principal amounts from selected deposit accounts starting September 1. Regulators confirmed that depositors will face no haircut on their accrued profits when accessing those funds.
The creation of Sammilito Islami Bank combined First Security Islami Bank, EXIM Bank, Social Islami Bank, Global Islami Bank, and Union Bank under the Bank Resolution Ordinance 2025. Consolidating five damaged balance sheets into a single state-owned Shariah lender represents Dhaka’s most aggressive intervention to date in halting systemic liquidity contagion.
Branch Network and Staff Integration
Restructuring now extends to physical networks and personnel. Regulators have reconstituted the bank’s board of directors with a focus on independent directors while rationalising roles across roughly 16,000 employees.
Engineers recently deployed a unified IT interface across all five legacy institutions, enabling retail customers to draw funds from any location. Operational integration is currently underway across 780 branches and 1,500 business units nationwide.
Bangladesh Bank’s resolution team will maintain regular monitoring sessions to track asset recovery numbers and enforce structural milestones through the final quarter of the year.