Five Bangladeshi banks set to merge after widespread loan defaults

After a deluge of defaults, a new state-owned bank called United Islamic Bank is set to emerge out of the five banks, with the plan to privatise them over time.
October 21, 2025

The Bangladesh government has started merging financially stressed banks to give them a lifeline and secure the interests of depositors, after they were looted extensively by the previous government and lost almost all their capital.

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