Major (retd) Md Rezaul Haque, founding and sponsor director of Social Islami Bank PLC (SIBL), has resigned from the board, citing strong objections to Bangladesh Bank’s decision to merge SIBL with four other troubled Shariah-based lenders.

The resignation came three days after the interim government’s advisory council approved merging Social Islami Bank, First Security Islami Bank, Global Islami Bank, Union Bank, and EXIM Bank into a new state-run Islamic lender -- United Islami Bank Ltd -- due to their weakened financial conditions.

Rezaul Haque, the sole shareholder-director on SIBL’s five-member board, submitted his resignation to the bank’s chairman on Sunday.

In his letter, Rezaul Haque criticised the central bank’s appointment of independent directors as “ineffective”, saying the new board had failed to revive the bank in over a year.

“Although independent directors should have no vested interest under the Bank Company Act, the board was composed entirely of them. Even after a year, the bank hasn’t recovered. Genuine entrepreneurs could have improved the situation,” he wrote.

Rezaul Haque, who chaired the bank from June 2013 to October 2017, claimed he was forced to resign “at gunpoint” in 2017.

He also alleged that since S. Alam Group took control, the bank had been pushed “to the brink of collapse through corruption and looting.”

“We had hoped that after the fall of the Hasina regime, Bangladesh Bank would return management to genuine entrepreneurs and shareholders. Instead, the appointment of independent directors turned out to be a failed decision,” he added.

Bangladesh Bank is expected to soon dissolve the boards and management of all five banks for the merger, with Haque’s resignation marking the first public dissent from SIBL’s board since the plan was approved.

Following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in August last year, Bangladesh Bank reconstituted the board, replacing the previous one led by members of controversial businessman S Alam’s family.