Bangladesh’s banking sector fell into an abyss from which there seemed to be no way out at some point in the last decade. Ask insiders, particularly bankers, and they will tell you that the entirely unexpected changeover of August 5 has, as a by-product, given the country’s banking sector a chance to turn itself around.
This turnaround is now visibly in the works, with numerous banks freed from the grips of individuals who only spelt bad news for the sector overall.
“People saw the state’s security agencies being deployed to advance the interests of a business group that operated more like a mafia,” seasoned banker Mohammad Abdul Mannan, the newly-installed chairman of First Security Islami Bank, told UNB in an interview recently.
He should know, having been one of the most high-profile victims of this criminal element that had been allowed to spread its claws with impunity in the country’s vital banking sector.
Back in 2017, the new chairman of FSIB was at the peak of his career as a banker, serving as the managing director of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited. IBBL, or Islami Bank, was by far the leading bank in the country at the time, before becoming the subject of a hostile takeover.
Incidentally, FSIB itself was subject to a hostile, surreptitious takeover by S Alam Group. Today, both have been freed from the yoke of crony capitalism, along with four other banks, all captured by the S Alam Group either directly or indirectly in an astonishing spree that was allowed to go on unchallenged.
“The new government asked me to be the chairman of FSIB, and I agreed to take it as a way to contribute to the country. So many young students have sacrificed their lives to build a new country,” he said.
Talking about what he has learned of the bank’s position since taking over as chairman Mannan said he was still in the process but did offer a tidbit —
“I was shocked, for example, to find out that some 2 million or 20 lakh people have deposited money with FSIB - and yet more than 90 per cent of that money was converted into loans taken by just 200 people,” he discloses.
However, he said, “I am very optimistic about this bank (FSIB). I never was a pessimist. The bank will turn around very quickly.”
“We are working non-stop day and night. I am also working on holidays like Friday-Saturday. I hope to be back by next December. I would say to depositors, be patient. Get your deposit back. Give it a rest,” he pointed out.
Looking back on his ouster as MD of Islami Bank in 2017, Mannan, who only broke his silence on what transpired recently (post-August 5), stood by the account he first shared on August 30.
“I was kicked out of Islami Bank by signing a fake paper with no letterhead, at gunpoint,” he recounts, before delving into details.
According to his telling, on the morning of January 5, 2017, alleged operatives of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) picked up the then-chairman, a vice-chairman, and Mannan, the MD of Islami Bank, from their homes and took them to the agency's headquarters.
There, they were forced to resign, one after another. Hours later, the bank's board meeting was held under the noses of military officers at a Dhaka hotel, who chose their replacements.
“Absurdly, the reason for the resignations of everyone who was forced out was mentioned as poor health. Yet none of the regulators questioned how everyone’s health deteriorated on the same day,” the banker disclosed with a note of frustration.
What made the situation so difficult for Mannan was that it wasn’t just the S. Alam Group that had its sights set on IBBL. The fact is the AL government itself was in on the entire plot against his bank - the same bank he had worked at right from its early days.
Assuming Islami Bank to be an asset of the Jamaat e Islami, which was in opposition to the ruling Awami League, a decision was taken at the highest levels of the government to effectively grab the bank from its then shareholders- by force if need be.
“The negative publicity against Islami Bank, presumably to prepare the grounds for such an eventuality, began back in 2006 when terrorist Siddique ul-Islam aka “Bangla Bhai” was caught, and news was spread that IBBL chequebooks were found in his possession,” Mannan says.
When asked if they were not, Mannan is adamant that chequebooks of 31 public and private banks were found. “But the headline in the newspaper was that IBBL chequebooks found on Bangla Bhai.”
He also comes down heavily on people in responsible positions such as Prof. Abul Barakat, for being “inconsiderate.”
“He (Barakat) said that Islami Bank spends Tk 1200 - 1700 crore every year on terrorist financing,” Mannan told UNB. “In this situation, the condition of Islami Bank was slowly becoming untenable, although I still coped.”
Things started getting difficult from 2013 onwards, he says. That was when the war crimes trial against Jamaat leaders was on in full swing and public sentiment was working against them. It may be mentioned here that although no direct links exist between the party and the bank, the long-term chairman of the bank, Mir Kashem, was a senior Jamaat leader till he was executed for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in 1971.
“At that time, not just Islami Bank but the entire Islamic banking sector experienced a real disaster,” he said.
“No bank in the world could have survived such a political backlash,” Mannan said. “Every day there were negative headlines in newspapers. Branches were attacked, and ATMs were vandalised. Many people at the time tried to take over Islami Bank. I had been successful till 2016 in preventing that from happening,” said Mannan.
Then came the horrific experience of being forced to resign, in the first week of 2017, following which he left the country. Today, more than seven years later, that victim of one of the worst episodes during Sheikh Hasina's 15-year rule, is back to provide some much-needed leadership in the banking sector.
