The Bangladesh Bank on Sunday dissolved the board of First Security Islami Bank PLC, which was under the control of controversial S Alam Group, and appointed independent directors to the bank board.
The central bank informed the managing director of the bank of its decision to place the institution under new boards.
With this change, the Bangladesh Bank has now freed five banks from the grip of S Alam Group.
This latest move follows the central bank鈥檚 actions to restructure the boards of Islami Bank Bangladesh, Social Islami Bank, Union Bank and Global Islami Bank, which were under S Alam Group鈥檚 control.
The BB also reshaped the boards of United Commercial Bank and National Bank, which were connected to the Group.
The central bank appointed five independent directors to First Security Islami Bank.
Mohammed Abdul Mannan, former managing director of Islami Bank Bangladesh, has been named chairman of FSIB PLC鈥檚 new board.
The four other independent directors are former BB executive director Md Azizur Rahman, former Uttara Bank deputy managing director Md Abdul Kuddus, Dhaka University associate professor Md Saiful Alam and chartered accountant Md Ragib Ahsan.
The S Alam Group also controls Bangladesh Commerce Bank.
Massive irregularities and loan anomalies occurred in these banks in recent years, BB officials said.
The S Alam Group, with the support from the ousted Awami League-led government, had taken control of six banks since 2017, ousting several founding shareholders and directors in the process.
The S Alam Group has been accused of engaging in widespread irregularities within these banks, particularly in recruitment and loan disbursement.
Bank officials claimed that the group withdrew about Tk 2 lakh crore in loans from the banking sector, mostly anonymously.
These loan irregularities have pushed these banks into a severe liquidity crisis, leaving its current account with the Bangladesh Bank in the red and forcing them to rely on central bank bailouts.
Meanwhile, Mercantile Bank on Sunday held its board meeting under special security arrangements at the bank鈥檚 headquarters in Dhaka to prevent any inconvenience.
During the meeting, Anwarul Haque was appointed as chairman of the bank.
Following major political changes after the fall of Sheikh Hasina on August 5, the bank鈥檚 immediate past chairman Morshed Alam was pressurised to resign during a board meeting held on August 27, leading to his resignation the following day.
Morshed will continue as a board member of the bank.
Morshed was Jatiya Sangsad member representing Awami League party in the Noakhali-2 constituency.
The bank on Sunday issued a letter instructing employees to refrain from sharing anything on social media or any other platform that could damage the bank鈥檚 reputation.
