Former Bangladesh Bank deputy governor Md Khurshid Alam was appointed chairman of Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC on Sunday amid growing tensions surrounding the country’s largest Shariah-based bank.

The appointment came hours after chairman M Zubaidur Rahman resigned from the post following advice from the central bank.

Bangladesh Bank informed the bank of the appointment through an official letter issued on the day.

Khurshid Alam was appointed deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank in February 2024 on a three-year contractual term.

However, following the fall of the Awami League government in August 2024, he and four other senior central bank officials stepped down amid pressure after the July political movement.

The latest appointment triggered criticism among a section of Bangladesh Bank officials who had opposed the return of former top officials removed after the political changeover.

Zubaidur Rahman had been serving as chairman of Islami Bank since July 23 last year after the resignation of former chairman Obayed Ullah Al Masud.

Meanwhile, a scheduled board meeting of Islami Bank at its Dilkusha head office in Dhaka was cancelled on Sunday amid protests by the Islami Bank Conscious Customers Forum.

There had been speculation that managing director Omar Faruk Khan, who has been on forced leave, might resign at the meeting.

Islami Bank, once controlled by the controversial S Alam Group, has remained under close scrutiny since the political transition in August 2024 over allegations of massive loan irregularities and fund siphoning.