Bank of Khyber’s control to be transferred

KARACHI: The government has decided to transfer management control of the Bank of Khyber to the private sector, on the purchase of its 26 per cent shares, stated the Chairman Board of Directors, Bank of Khyber.

He was speaking at the inauguration of the bank’s branch at the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) here on Friday.

He said that 51 per cent shares of the bank are with the government while 49 per cent shareholding is with the private sector. However, the government does not interfere in the affairs of the bank despite having majority shareholding, he added.

He pointed out that the bank is independent in decision-making, policy designing and its implementation.

Additional Chief Secretary Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Ghulam Dastagir Khan, said that the bank’s operation was not limited to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province and it is opening its branches in other cities of the country as well.

He said that the bank’s KSE branch will serve as a vital link between the brokers and investors and provide all banking services to its clients.

Managing Director KSE, Adnan Afridi, said that the Bank of Khyber was the best example of public-private partnership.

Managing Director Bank of Khyber, Bilal Mustafa, said that the bank has a branch network of 54, which will be increased to 70 next year. The bank has an asset base of Rs40 billion and earned a profit of Rs1 billion last year.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 7^th, 2010.