Islami Bank’s asset value halves from last year

Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC’s fortunes have sharply turned around this year for the second time in its history, according to earnings figures revealed at an internal meeting on Thursday.

The bank, once the country’s biggest, saw sharp losses after the forceful takeover by the S Alam group under the Awami League regime. Following the regime’s ouster, it started recouping losses, recording profit last year, in an unprecedented move in the country’s banking history.

However, this year, the fortunes have nosedived again, amid protests against the appointment of a new chairman, Khurshid Alam, over allegations against him of money laundering and ties to the ousted Awami League regime.

On Thursday, the bank’s board of directors approved the unaudited financial statement for the third quarter in its 41st meeting.

The statement outlined that after-tax net earnings recorded a loss of Tk3,303 crore in the first nine months of the year, compared with a profit of Tk79 crore in the same period last year.

In the first nine months of this year (January–September), the bank reported a standalone loss per share of Tk20.51, compared with earnings per share of Tk0.49 in the same period last year.

On a consolidated basis, the loss per share stood at Tk20.41, compared with earnings per share of Tk0.62 in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Furthermore, the bank’s asset value has nearly halved due to substantial losses. As of 30 September, the bank’s net asset value (NAV) stood at Tk3,584 crore, down from Tk6,963 crore in the same period last year.

On a consolidated basis, net asset value fell to Tk3,806.05 crore from Tk7,161.06 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.