Bangladesh Bank has said there is no possibility of the conventional National Bank merging with Islamic Shariah-based banks, shrugging off recent media reports suggesting otherwise. On Friday, central bank spokesperson Arief Hossain Khan said some newspapers had reported, quoting the governor, that six weak banks would be merged under government ownership. According to the channel, the list included Social Islami Bank Limited (SIBL), First Security Islami Bank, Global Islami Bank, Union Bank, EXIM Bank, and National Bank. After the report, the Bangladesh Bank chief was asked to specify which banks would be merged. He noted that Bangladesh Bank had already been extending liquidity support to those institutions.
