Acquisition to be completed in October

KARACHI: The acquisition of Atlas Bank and MyBank by Arif Habib Bank Ltd will be completed by October this year and the new bank will commence operations under the label of Summit Bank.

This was revealed by the president of Summit Bank Ltd (formerly Arif Habib Bank), Hussain Lawai, as he explained that the decision to change the name of the bank was taken on Wednesday.

Furthermore, three foreign sponsors have agreed to invest a total of Rs2.5 billion in the new consortium, he informed, adding that the three groups are located in New York, London and Dubai, respectively.

The main sponsors of Arif Habib Bank, Suroor Investments, had bought 58 per cent shares in Atlas Bank and 60 per cent shares in MyBank for the acquisition, he informed.

Currently, the paid-up capital of Atlas Bank stands at Rs1.6 billion, that of MyBank is Rs5 billion and that of Arif Habib Bank is Rs4 billion. After the acquisition, the paid-up capital of the new Summit Bank will be Rs10 billion.

Lawai also pointed out that once the new bank is operational, it will have a network of 160 branches.

Summit Bank has also contacted the State Bank of Pakistan to request details for the initiation of an Islamic banking programme, he said, adding in the future the bank will launch a family budget account and additional facilities on its Visa debit card.

However, he mentioned that the bank will focus on developing new products for corporate clients as opposed to the banking sector’s traditional focus on consumer financing products.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 20^th, 2010.