The proposed merger between EXIM Bank and Padma Bank has been called off

Exim Bank has officially withdrawn its decision to merge with the financially troubled Padma Bank, effectively halting plans for the country’s first bank merger. The announcement was made Tuesday morning. 

Previously, on March 14, it was decided that Padma Bank would merge with Exim Bank after a Tk1,700 crore government bailout failed to resolve Padma Bank's financial crisis. On March 18, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed to initiate the merger process. Under the plan, Exim Bank, then led by the controversial oligarch Nazrul Islam Majumder, intended to discontinue Padma Bank’s name while retaining its employees in the new merged entity.

Established in 2013 as Farmers Bank, Padma Bank has faced chronic financial instability. Since 2017, under the leadership of Awami League-affiliated Chowdhury Nafeez Sarafat, the bank’s struggles with recovering non-performing loans have worsened, further deepening its financial woes.