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Crisis-ridden Global Islami Bank (GIB) also accepts the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) option while Social Islami Bank Limited (SIBL) now disagrees to espouse such bailout package launched by the regulator for banking-sector revamp.
Instead of embracing the M&A recipe, SIBL sought time from the central bank for turnaround from its severe liquidity crunch in a meeting with Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Ahsan H. Mansur and his deputies at the BB headquarters on Thursday.
Like on other days, the BB governor virtually joined the meeting with the board of directors of the two shariah-based lenders to listen to their plans and views regarding the BB-designed M&A remedy for the financially weak banks.
Emerging from the meeting, SIBL founder-chairman Major (Retd.) Dr Md. Rezaul Haque said they don't want to get involved in the merger process anyway.
"Certainly, we will be able to turn around from the current situation. We need time for the rebound and the responsibility of the bank's operation needs to be given to the shareholding directors, not to the independent directors," he said.
The banker, however, wouldn't give any clue to how long it takes for them to make the turnaround under their own bail-in option.
The bank's incumbent chairman, Prof Mohammad Sadiqul Islam, said the controversial S Alam Group had taken away assets amounting to over Tk 60 billion under various names, which put serious pressure on the bank's liquidity management.
Meanwhile, GIB chairman Mohammed Nurul Amin told reporters that they accepted BB's bank-resolution measure for revival of the struggling commercial lenders.
"I don't know what steps the regulator will take. Is it merger, liquidation, recapitalisation or other ways? It all up to the government but the depositors will be benefited," he said.
According to Mr. Amin, the bank's current loan portfolio stands at Tk140 billion, of which a king's ransom of Tk120 billion was borrowed by S Alam Group through various entities.
Most of these loans have been defaulted, with collateral covering less than 25 per cent of the exposure.
The BB plans to apply bank-resolution ordinance to the five unconventional banks -- Union Bank, FSIB, EXIM, SIBL and GIB.
Two of them--EXIM and SIBL--denied welcoming the BB- planned crisis-resolution measure.
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