Customers' forum heads to finance ministry with memorandum seeking Islami Bank chairman's resignation

As protests over the appointment of Islami Bank Chairman Md
Khurshid Alam continue, a delegation led by the Conscious Customers' Forum
headed to the Ministry of Finance today (10 June) to submit a memorandum
demanding his resignation.
The forum, which has been
protesting for more than a week, was joined by several thousand customers,
according to its leaders.
The memorandum is addressed to the
finance minister.
Earlier, the forum's convener and spokesperson, Professor
Nur Un Nabi, said they would begin a march from in front of Islami Bank's head
office in Dilkusha, Motijheel, at around 11am and proceed towards the
Secretariat.
The forum has been protesting since
Khurshid was appointed chairman of the bank.
According to the protesters,
customers have withdrawn more than Tk5,000 crore in deposits over the past nine
days.
They also claimed that Islami
Bank's cash reserve ratio maintained with Bangladesh Bank had fallen from
Tk7,000 crore to Tk1,600 crore as of yesterday.
Thousands of customers have been
gathering at branches to withdraw their money.
Bankers said that unless the
central bank takes swift measures to address the situation, the bank's current
account with Bangladesh Bank could turn negative in the near future, making it
more difficult for the bank to meet customer withdrawal demands.
Nur Un Nabi said Islami Bank became
one of the leading banks in Bangladesh, Asia and the world shortly after its
establishment in 1983. He alleged that in 2017, with the support of the
previous government and intelligence agencies, control of the bank was handed
to the S Alam Group, resulting in irregular lending and the laundering of funds
abroad.
Professor Dr M Zubaidur Rahman
resigned as chairman on 24 May. Former deputy governor Md Khurshid Alam was
later appointed chairman. He had resigned from the deputy governor post
following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on 5 August amid protests.
Since his appointment, a section of
customers and shareholders has expressed dissatisfaction. Amid the ongoing
protests, the resignation of managing director Md Omar Faruk was accepted
during a virtual board meeting on 1 June.
















