A writ petition has been filed at the High Court questioning the legality of the government decision to merge five troubled private banks.
Barrister Sayed Mahsib Hossain filed the writ petition on behalf of Shahidul Islam, a general investor of one of the concerned banks on Tuesday (18 November).
The Bangladesh Bank governor, the finance secretary, and other relevant officials have been made respondents in the petition.
The Supreme Court lawyer Mahsib told The Business Standard that the writ may be heard in a high court bench in this week or next week.
The writ sought direction to formulate protective measures and ensure adequate measures to issue shares to the general shareholders, including the petitioner, in the proposed Sammilito Islami Bank as per their shareholding in First Security Islami Bank, Union Bank, Global Islami Bank, Social Islami Bank and EXIM Bank.
Barrister Sayed Mahsib Hossain told The Business Standard, "The right to hold property and the right to do business are inalienable rights of my client under the Constitution of this country. The general investor like my client have purchased the shares of the said banks which are traded in the security market but the government, without issuing any shares to my client in the proposed new bank, have taken steps to merge the bank and this amounts to violation of my client's fundamental rights and for which my client prays for a direction on the government to allocate shares to the petitioner in the proposed new bank."
The writ said, purported action of the Respondents to merge First Security Islami Bank, Union Bank, Global Islami Bank, Social Islami Bank and Exim Bank into one single unified bank under the proposed name and style namely, "Sammilito Islami Bank" without ensuring any protection to the shareholders' interest and without issuing any shares to the existing general shareholders.
The writ also said, "That even though the Central Bank was not at all prepared for the feudal marriage of the 5 (five) distressed Bank in order to prevent systemic collapse of the country's banking sector burdened with chronic corruptions, accumulated mismanagements, politically motivated lending, and record levels of non-performing loans (NPLs) and to combat with the prevailing circumstances the government nevertheless (Ministry of Finance as well as Bangladesh Bank) decided on 5.11.2025 to merge all the five entities and form it into one unified bank under the name and style "Sammilito Islami Bank" while dissolving all the banks."
Sayed Mahsib Hossain said, "It is stated that the petitioner came to learn from various news articles that the shareholders of the aforesaid merged entities shall not receive any share in the merged bank although the Bangladesh Bank is taking every possible step to ensure the protection of the wealth of depositors."
The lawyer also stated that it is reported that the Central Bank has announced that shareholders and general investors in five troubled banks that are being merged will be required to bear losses as part of the banks' restructuring process. This stance taken by the regulator effectively rules out any protection for ordinary shareholders amid the ongoing merger for these institutions. In a recent press release, BB explicitly stated that there is no scope to safeguard the interests of general investors or small shareholders in these banks.
He said it was totally against shareholder interest and a violation of the Constitution.
Earlier, on 9 October, the Advisory Council of the interim government approved the proposal to merge the five crisis-hit private banks. The plan is to form a new Shariah-based bank by combining First Security Islami Bank, Global Islami Bank, Union Bank, EXIM Bank, and Social Islami Bank.
Two names have been proposed for the new entity — United Islamic Bank and Sammilito Islami Bank. According to officials, the new bank will operate on commercial and professional principles.