On August 12, days after Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus was sworn in as the new Prime Minister, the Bangladesh central bank told all banks not to honour cheques (worth over 1 crore Taka) the nine lenders: National Bank, Padma Bank, ICB Islamic Bank, Islami Bank Bangladesh, First Security Islami Bank, Social Islami Bank, Union Bank, Global Islami Bank, and Bangladesh Commerce Bank.

There was a run on these banks, among others, in 2022 after reports said that they had approved loans against fake addresses. Since then, these nine banks have been surviving on liquidity support from the central bank, which acted as the lender of last resort.

The Bangladesh central bank’s decision taken three days after the Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder resigned, after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was exiled.

It was Talukder’s decision to continue supporting the ailing banks, including five Shariah-based banks, which has now been withdrawn after his resignation.

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