Sonali Bank

Sonali Bank PLC (Public Limited Company) (Bengali: সোনালী ব্যাংক পিএলসি) is the principal state-owned leading public commercial bank in Bangladesh. It is the largest bank in the country. Ziaul Hasan Siddiqui is the chairman of the Bank.[9] Niranjan Chandra Debnath and Sanchia Binte Ali are the deputy managing directors of the bank. Sonali Bank was established in 1972 under the Bangladesh Banks (Nationalisation) Order, through the amalgamation and nationalisation of the branches of National Bank of Pakistan, Bank of Bahawalpur, and Premier Bank branches located in East Pakistan until the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. When it was established, Sonali Bank had a paid up capital of 30 million taka. From 1996 to 1999, Dr Atiur Rahman served as a director of Sonali Bank.[12] In 2001, its authorised and paid up capital were Tk 10 billion and Tk 3.272 billion, respectively. Presently, its authorised and paid up capital is Tk 10 billion and Tk 9 billion, respectively.[citation needed] The bank's reserve funds were Tk 60 million in 1979 and Tk 2.050 billion on 30 June 2000. The top defaulters of bank in 2006 were Mahanagari Traders Limited, Fair Chemicals (Private) Limited, Khulna Newsprint Mills Limited, Chittagong Jute Manufacturing Company Limited, Shamsul Alamin Cotton Mills Limited, Imperial Dyeing and Hosiery Mills Limited, Jahanara Alamin Spinning, Bright Textile Industries, Bangladesh Textile Mills Corporation, Bangladesh Autorickshaw Chalak Samity, Maola Textile Mills, East West Property Development Limited, Lina Textile Industries, Beximco group, One Composite Mills limited, Riverside Leather and Footwear Limited, Desma Shoe Industries, Nawab Askari Jute Mills Limited, Alpha Tobacco Manufacturing Company Limited, and Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation.[13] In 2007, Sonali Bank was converted into a public limited company and renamed to Sonali Bank Limited.