Dhaka, Sept. 21 -- Bangladesh Bank is developing a special payment scheme to protect depositors of five Islamic banks that are set to merge.

According to Bangladesh Bank data, the merging banks hold combined deposits of Tk 1.52 lakh crore, while outstanding loans have exceeded Tk 2.0 lakh crore.

Personal deposits alone total nearly Tk 46,000 crore.

Under the central bank's plan, deposits of up to Tk 2.0 lakh will be promptly refunded under an insurance scheme.

Deposits exceeding Tk 2.0 lakh will be refunded in a phased manner, although the exact timeline has yet to be determined.

Refunds may carry a 4 percent return, but all existing deposit schemes will be cancelled. If a customer holds multiple accounts across these banks, they wil...