Padma Bank seeks merger with state-run bank

Padma Bank, formerly known as Farmers Bank, is keen to merge with any state-run bank. 

The bank’s management recently submitted a proposal to the Financial Institutions Division (FID) of the finance ministry in this regard.

“We have recently received a proposal from the bank for a merger,” FID Additional Secretary ABM Ruhul Azad told The Business Post. He said they were yet to take any decision.

The bank, established in 2013, became a hotbed of financial irregularities in less than three years of operation. More than Tk 3,500 crore was siphoned out of the bank, according to the central bank.

Former chairman Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir and audit committee chairman Md Mahabubul Haque Chisty were forced to resign in November 2017 amid allegations galore. The government stepped in to rescue the bank the following year.

State-owned financial institution Investment Corporation of Bangladesh, Sonali Bank, Janata Bank, Agrani Bank and Rupali Bank bought 60 per cent stake in the bank for Tk 715 crore.