Five Islami Shari'ah-based banks borrowed nearly Tk 52.50 billion from the Islami Banks Liquidity Facility (IBLF) in two days after the Bangladesh Bank (BB) opened the liquidity window for such banks.
The five banks are Islami Bank Bangladesh, Social Islami Bank, First Security Islami Bank, Global Islami Bank, and Union Bank, according to the BB.
The banks borrowed Tk 40 billion on the first day (Tuesday) and Tk 12.50 billion on the following day.
A BB official said the banks are facing pressure of local currency obligation in recent times, stemming from deposit withdrawals in the wake of reports of some big cash-outs, allegedly through shady lending.
They applied for replenishing their cash vaults under a 14-day financing policy instrument against the Sukuk.
Before introduction of the latest liquidity instrument, there was a liquidity supporting mechanism - the Bangladesh Government Islamic Investment Bonds (BGIIB) - under which the unconventional (Islami) banks used to borrow, the BB official noted.
"But the surplus credit of the Islami banks kept in the BGIIB was almost nil because of the growing demand of local currency in recent days. That's why, the BB launched the new financing instrument for the Shari'ah-based banks," he added.
Seeking anonymity, a senior banker of an Islami bank told the FE that the name of the new liquidity instrument created a problem of spreading confusion among people.
"We (Islami banks) invest in Sukuk (Islami bond) and we take the money by keeping Sukuk as security. So, we take our own fund to meet requirement. This is not others' credit. But unfortunately, many are spreading confusion by wrongly presenting the matter," he added.
There are a total of 10 Shari'ah-based banks that accounted for 26.19 per cent of the total deposit - recorded in the country's banking system as of June 30, 2022.
The Islamic banking segment's total deposit stood at over Tk 4.12 trillion then, recording a 12 per cent growth year-on-year basis.
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