Bangladesh Development Bank Ltd will be merged with Sonali Bank, and Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank will be taken over by Bangladesh Krishi Bank, according to a central bank official. 

The primary decision of mergers was taken in a meeting between Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder and managing directors of the respective banks at the BB headquarters yesterday. 

The government took the decision in principle and informed the banks about the merger move, the central bank official said, asking not to be named. 

Md Afzal Karim, managing director of state-run Sonali Bank, told The Daily Star that a formal decision was yet to be taken about the merger.

He said that primarily the boards of the respective banks will have to approve of the merger.

"Then they will apply to the BB," Karim said, adding that a formal decision on the merger may come soon.