Islami Bank chairman Zubaidur Rahman resigns

Professor M Zubaidur Rahman, Chairman of the private-sector Islami Bank, has resigned. He submitted his resignation letter to Bangladesh Bank today, Sunday.

In July 2025, Bangladesh Bank appointed M Zubaidur Rahman as an independent director of the bank. He was subsequently elected chairman and had been serving in that role since then. At the time, the central bank governor was economist Ahsan H Mansur.

According to discussions with multiple officials at Bangladesh Bank, after the BNP government assumed office and Mostaqur Rahman joined as governor, disagreements emerged between Bangladesh Bank officials and senior officials of Islami Bank over various decisions concerning the bank.

The chairman of Islami Bank went abroad on one-and-a-half months’ leave on the condition that he would attend meetings online. At the same time, the bank’s Managing Director, Omar Faruk Khan, was also sent on leave. Their leave was approved at a meeting of the bank’s board of directors on 12 April.

Officials from Bangladesh Bank and Islami Bank said that a board meeting had been scheduled today at the bank’s head office. Customers and some officials of the bank began protesting in front of the headquarters. They demonstrated in support of Omar Faruk Khan, urging that he not resign.
At the same time, they demanded the resignation of Chairman M Zubaidur Rahman. Under the circumstances, M Zubaidur Rahman submitted his resignation letter to Bangladesh Bank today.

Meanwhile, a source at the bank confirmed that Managing Director Omar Faruk Khan, who is currently on leave, has also submitted his resignation letter to the board of directors. However, since the board meeting was cancelled, no decision has yet been made on the matter.

Attempts were made to contact M Zubaidur Rahman and Omar Faruk Khan by phone for comment, but their statements could not be obtained.
In 2017, S Alam Group took control of Islami Bank. After the fall of the Awami League government, Bangladesh Bank removed them and appointed independent directors instead.

According to the bank’s annual report, Islami Bank’s profit in 2016 was approximately Tk 447 crore. By 2025, it had fallen to Tk 137 crore. At that time, the default loan ratio was 4.25 percent, which has now risen to 49 percent. More than Tk 92,000 crore of the bank’s loans are now classified as defaulted.

Foreign investors’ ownership stake in the bank has declined from 63 per cent to 17.91 per cent as of March 2026. On the other hand, because of alleged links between S Alam and nearly 82 per cent of the bank’s shares, Bangladesh Bank seized those shares.