The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) is maintaining active communication with Bangladesh Bank, the Ministry of Finance, the Financial Institutions Division and other government bodies to prevent losses for investors of the five Shariah-based banks that were recently merged, DSE Chairman Mominul Islam said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a meeting on the draft “Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (Public Offer of Equity Securities) Rules, 2025” held at the DSE Tower, Mominul said the exchange strongly urged authorities to consider the concerns of capital market investors in EXIM Bank, First Security Islami Bank, Global Islami Bank, Union Bank and Social Islami Bank.

“All regulators and supervisors share responsibility for the current situation of these five banks. Bangladesh Bank is looking after the interests of depositors, while we have placed the investors’ concerns before them as well,” he said.

“We are raising our voice to safeguard investors’ interests. The DSE is working so that the issues seen in the past with these banks do not recur,” the DSE chairman added.

Addressing the current state of the market, he said a number of problems persist in the capital market, which is why many good companies have yet to be listed.

These issues must be identified and resolved even before the new rules come into effect, he noted.

Mominul stressed that the market suffers from a shortage of quality companies.

“The number of good companies in the market is very low. Listing quality firms should be given the highest priority. There is a lot of scope to work in this area, and the rules must be crafted to encourage strong companies to come to the market,” he said.

He also emphasised bringing more and better-quality IPOs to expand market depth.

Speaking at the event, Saiful Islam, president of the DSE Brokers Association of Bangladesh (DBA), said that ensuring quality IPOs cannot be the responsibility of the DSE alone.

As a regulator, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission must also take responsibility,” he remarked.

Saiful also recommended allowing large private-sector conglomerates to list through the direct listing method.