IslamicFinance.de

Ibn Sina Trust is set to sell off its entire 2.24% stake in Islami Bank Bangladesh (IBBL) within the next 30 days. Ibn Sina's exit from the country's biggest private lender comes a few days after the resignation of Chairman Arastoo Khan. The former secretary stepped down on April 17 and was replaced by Md Nazmul Hasan, a professor of the University of Dhaka. Ibn Sina left the bank's board on January 5 this year after a huge reshuffle. Last year, the Islamic Development Bank, one of the foreign investors of IBBL, sold two-thirds of its shares, bringing its stake in the bank down to 2% from 7.5%. In 2014, foreign sponsor-shareholder Bahrain Islamic Bank sold off all of its shares and Dubai Islamic Bank followed suit in 2015.

An international workshop on waqf management begins in Dhaka tomorrow. The event is jointly organized by the Islamic Research and Training Institute, Islami Bank Bangladesh and the Centre for Zakat Management. The workshop on the revival of waqf for socio-economic development will review the rules and regulations of waqf management in different countries. President Abdul Hamid is scheduled to inaugurate the event. Islami Bank Chairman Arastoo Khan stated that waqf could play a vital role in developing the country and there were many rich people in the country who want to donate for waqf. A total of 29,341 accountholders of Islami Bank has so far deposited Tk 104 crore under its waqf product called Cash Waqf.

Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith said that the board of directors of Islami Bank Bangladesh has been engaged in an internal row. The row is over the appointment of new staff, that Islami Bank Vice-chairman Professor Ahsanul Alam claims were made on paying bribes. Due to the row between him and chairman Arastoo Khan, two groups in the board have also been created with the 21 directors supporting either Arastoo or Ahsanul, and each group calling the other a liar. In a statement released on May 20, nine directors threatened to resign from their posts. Professor Ahsanul Alam has claimed that three directors who are abroad have also opted in support of this statement.

On the 5th of January military intelligence operatives phoned the chairman, a vice-chairman and the managing director of Islami Bank Bangladesh and brought them to the agency’s headquarters in Dhaka. A few hours later the bank’s board selected their replacements. Islami Bank has been of interest to the government for its association with the Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh’s biggest Islamist party. In recent months, companies with ties to S Alam Group have built stakes in the bank, although the group denies any role in this. The new chairman, Arastoo Khan, declined to comment on the changes at the bank. The shareholders from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait were kept in the dark about the boardroom coup and complained bitterly about it. The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) questioned the rationale behind the changes and pointed out that there was no proper recruitment process. The Bangladeshi government has assured foreign shareholders that it will not let politicians loot the bank.

Islami Bank Bangladesh has undergone abrupt, major changes in its three top positions - chairman, vice chairman and managing director. Arastoo Khan, the former chairman of Commerce Bank has now become chairman of Islami Bank, replacing incumbent Mustafa Anowar. As a representative of Ibn Sina run by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami leaders, Mustafa Anowar was serving as the chairman of the bank. He also resigned from the post of director as well as from the post in the bank’s foundation. The board of directors also replaced the bank’s managing director (MD) Mohammad Abdul Mannan by Union Bank’s MD Abdul Hamid Mia. Islami Bank Bangladesh has 307 branches including 57 AD branches and three offshore banking units as well as 13,229 staff members, as of December 2015.