Dhaka, Sept. 10 -- Bangladesh Bank has said the process of merging five debt-ridden banks linked to S Alam Group is moving fast and is expected to be completed by mid-November this year.

Earlier this week, the finance ministry approved a draft proposal to merge Exim Bank, Social Islami Bank, First Security Islami Bank, Global Islami Bank and Union Bank into a single state-owned entity. Work on the consolidation has already started, according to central bank officials.

"Every task related to the bank merger is progressing fast. The major concern was ensuring required capital for the process. Since it has already been decided that the new bank will be state-owned and the financing has been approved, we expect the merger to be completed by...