Staff Reporter :
A group of stock market investors has demanded the resignation of Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur over the merger of five troubled banks, accusing the central bank of wiping out their investments and harming small shareholders.
Speaking at a press briefing after trading hours on Thursday in front of the old Dhaka Stock Exchange building in Motijheel, members of the Bangladesh Capital Market Investors’ Unity Council issued a Saturday deadline for the governor to step down. They warned that they would lay siege to the central bank next Tuesday if he does not resign.
“We cannot accept this forced merger,” said council president Mizanur Rashid Chowdhury. “These banks were listed with approval from the BSEC, and people invested their hard-earned savings.
Now investors are being left with nothing, despite not being at fault.” He accused the central bank of ignoring shareholders’ interests and warned that retail investors risk losing their entire investments if the consolidation process continues as planned.
The protest comes as the boards of the five Islamic banks facing consolidation have been dissolved and administrators appointed – the first major step in the government’s effort to stabilise the banking sector.
While the Bangladesh Bank has assured that small depositors can withdraw up to Tk2 lakh within a month and large depositors will be repaid in phases, retail shareholders will receive nothing under the merger plan, though bondholders are set to recover their funds.
