Can Bangladesh Afford to Wait?

Across the world, major banking mergers have succeeded not because they had access to better technology, but because they established strong governance, timely decision-making, and disciplined execution.

It is common logic that when a decision to merge has already been made, the challenge is no longer whether the merger should happen. The challenge is how to complete it successfully within a stipulated time frame.

I bring to your attention the issue of mergers of five scheduled banks recently decided by the Government of Bangladesh. This is not merely the merger of five banks. It is the integration of millions of customer relationships, thousands of employees, hundreds of branches, decades of institutional history, diverse organizational cultures, and complex operational processes.

It is also about brand extinction and re-branding of the entities under an umbrella. The line of action for these mergers are complex and penetrative, needing great acumen for seamless transition and transformation. Few transformations in Bangladesh's banking history have matched this scale or complexity. That is why governance becomes just as important as execution.

When Time Becomes a Strategic Risk

The scale of the transformation explains why governance matters. It also explains why time itself has become one of the Bank's valuable -- and most limited -- resources. Therefore the room for error is almost unacceptable.

The Decision Before the Decision

Before deciding what should be done, the Board must first decide how that decision should be made. A precise decision roadmap has to be crafted to deliver optimum results and perhaps this process itself must be given significant time bound execution level managerial and strategic thrust.

Given the complexity and national importance of this transformation, the Board should consider a governance framework capable of drawing upon multidisciplinary expertise and independent professional judgment.

Every additional month of transition carries substantial financial consequences. Parallel operations, delayed efficiencies, duplicated processes, and deferred integration all impose costs on the institution while postponing the benefits the merger was intended to achieve. In short, the costs may escalate due to a faulty move.

No board, regardless of its experience, can reasonably be expected to possess expertise in every discipline required for a transformation of this magnitude. The transformation spans banking operations, governance, risk management, technology, Islamic finance, organizational change, and regulatory compliance among other variables.

No single discipline can reasonably be expected to evaluate all of these dimensions with sufficient depth.

The responsibility of the Board is not merely to make the right decision, but to establish a process that enables the right decision to emerge.

In transformations of this magnitude, governance is measured not by outcomes, but also by the integrity, transparency, and discipline of the decision-making process.

The Missing Piece: A National Due Diligence Committee

No single discipline, department, or individual can reasonably evaluate every dimension of a transformation of this magnitude. One governance mechanism that deserves serious consideration is the establishment of a multidisciplinary Due Diligence Committee drawing upon distinguished academics, experienced banking practitioners, Islamic finance specialists, program management professionals, and other independent subject matter experts.

Such a committee would strengthen -- not replace -- the Board's decision-making by providing structured, objective, and multidisciplinary advice. The due diligence committee will craft the ‘way forward’ and then the momentum of the initiative will reach its optimum output.

The objective is not to reduce due diligence. The objective is to accelerate diligence by bringing together the country's best expertise under a clear governance framework.

International experience consistently demonstrates that successful banking consolidations depend less on technology than on disciplined governance, structured program management, and timely decision-making. Institutions that invest early in multidisciplinary due diligence are generally better positioned to achieve successful integration while maintaining stakeholder confidence.

A Matter of Trust

Behind every strategic decision are millions of depositors, thousands of employees, countless businesses, and families whose confidence depends upon a stable and successful transition. The true measure of success is not merely completing the merger, but preserving trust throughout the journey.

Bangladesh has already demonstrated the courage to merge five banks into one institution. The next demonstration of leadership will not be measured by how decisions are made, but by whether the governance process inspires confidence, transparency, and trust.

History rarely rewards institutions for making perfect decisions. It rewards those that establish the right process to make well-informed decisions at the right time. That is the real challenge before the Shommilito Islami Bank initiative.

For transformations of national significance, many jurisdictions draw upon multidisciplinary expert panels to strengthen Board decision-making and reinforce public confidence.

In the end, the lasting success of this merger will depend less on the decision that is made than on the confidence the nation has in the process through which that decision is reached.

An insightful and strategic direction mentioned above may clearly set the process in the right swing of things and let us build an appropriate framework for the mergers to take place in the most appropriate manner. I wish for the success of the entire process.

Ziaur Rahman is the CEO at IITM.