Islami Bank chair Zubaidur Rahman resigns
M Zubaidur Rahman, independent director and chairman of Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC, resigned on Sundat citing personal reasons.
He submitted his resignation to the Bangladesh Bank.
M. Zubaidur Rahman was appointed as an independent director of the bank by Bangladesh Bank in July 2025.
Since then, he has been elected as the chairman. At that time, the governor was economist Ahsan H. Mansur.It has been learned from several Bangladesh Bank officials that after the BNP government took office and Mostaqur Rahman joined the post of governor, Bangladesh Bank officials and high-ranking officials of the bank had disagreements over various decisions regarding Islami Bank.
The chairman of Islami Bank went out of the country on a one-and-a-half-month leave on the condition of attending the online meeting.
Along with this, the bank’s managing director Omar Faruk Khan was also sent on leave.
Their leave was approved at the meeting of the board of directors of Islami Bank on April 12.
Bangladesh Bank and Islami Bank officials said that a meeting of the board of directors was called at the bank’s head office today.
Bank customers and some officials started a movement outside the head office. They protested against Omar Farooq Khan’s resignation.
In addition, the chairman M. Zubaidur Rahman wants his resignation. In such a situation, M. Zubaidur Rahman sent his resignation letter to Bangladesh Bank yesterday.
Meanwhile, a source in the bank confirmed that MD Omar Faruk Khan, who is on leave, has also submitted his resignation letter to the board of directors.
However, no decision has been taken on this as the board meeting was canceled.
Attempts were made to contact M. Zubaidur Rahman and Omar Faruk Khan on mobile phones to inquire about the matter, but their statements were not available.
S Alam Group took control of Islami Bank in 2017. After the fall of the Awami League government, Bangladesh Bank replaced them and appointed independent directors.
According to the bank’s annual report, Islami Bank’s profit in 2016 was around Tk 447 crore.
In 2025, it fell to Tk 137 crore. At that time, the default loan rate was 4.25 percent, which has increased to 49 percent. The bank’s loans worth more than Tk 92,000 crore are now defaulted.
The share of foreign investors in the bank’s share ownership has decreased from 63 percent to 17.91 percent (March 2026).
On the other hand, Bangladesh Bank seized about 82 percent of the bank’s shares due to S Alam’s involvement.
