Three local bidders have started examining financial and physical conditions of Oriental Bank before they firm up financial offers for stakes in the beleaguered private bank.

The three — Summit group, BRAC Bank and Domestic Investors Consortium — engaged chartered accountants’ firms to inspect the books and assess the financial health of the bank, put under direct management of Bangladesh Bank. The bank has set up three data centres to assist the inspection teams.

The bidders will get 15 days from Sunday to complete the financial assessments and another three weeks to make final financial offers for sponsor shares valued at Tk 400 crore.

Three foreign bidders, a Malaysian financial group, Sri Lanka-based Hatton National Bank and UK-based East Invest Private Equity Limited, will start their inspection from October 29.

Central bank officials are expecting good returns from the offer, which has already shown signs of tough competition among the bidders to take over the bank.

The handover is expected by the end of this year, a central bank official said. If the amount exceeds Tk 400 crore, the additional money would be considered as premium. Investors are likely to buy the shares at a premium as the central bank is not going to issue licence for any new bank soon, said the official.

The bank will also issue shares to depositors proportionately, ranging from 10 per cent to 25 per cent of the deposits.

In the bank, general depositors have around Tk 1,150 crore, government Tk 400 crore, private banks Tk 350 crore, financial institutions Tk 90 crore, insurance companies Tk 16 crore and local authorities Tk 7 crore.