Filing: Askari Bank interested in KASB acquisition
Seeks SBP’s permission for due diligence.
KARACHI:
Askari Bank is seeking permission of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to conduct due diligence of KASB Bank, according to a Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) filing on Monday.
Under the law, any bank wishing to acquire a stake in another bank is required to seek permission from the central bank before conducting an appraisal of the other institution’s assets, liabilities and commercial potential.
The federal government had put KASB Bank under a six-month moratorium last month after it failed to meet its capital adequacy requirement as prescribed by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
Under the moratorium, the bank has not been able to make payments of more than Rs300,000 to its deposit account holders since November 17.
The moratorium was imposed under Section 47 of the Banking Companies Ordinance, 1962. It allows the SBP to prepare a scheme for either the reconstruction of the banking company or its amalgamation with ‘any other banking institution’.
As per the ordinance, the amalgamation scheme may contain provisions for the transfer of business, properties, assets and liabilities of the banking company to the ‘other banking institution’.
The share price of KASB Bank increased Rs0.39 to close at Rs2.21 on Monday. One of the ‘penny stocks’ on the KSE, KASB Bank was the fourth most traded share on the bourse on Monday.
Its turnover clocked up at 9.2 million shares, which is slightly higher than the combined turnover KASB Bank’s share recorded since the beginning of December.
Two other private banks that were short of capital adequacy, Summit Bank and Silk Bank, have taken steps to improve their capital adequacy ratio and minimum capital requirements.
Summit Bank increased its capital by Rs7 billion through the right issue at Rs10 per share in order to meet minimum capital requirements. Similarly, Silk Bank achieved the capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of 10% last week.
Askari Bank’s share also witnessed unusual trading with 585,500 shares exchanging hands on Monday. Its share price came down Rs0.02 a share to close at Rs22.37.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 16th, 2014.
Askari Bank is seeking permission of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to conduct due diligence of KASB Bank, according to a Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) filing on Monday.
Under the law, any bank wishing to acquire a stake in another bank is required to seek permission from the central bank before conducting an appraisal of the other institution’s assets, liabilities and commercial potential.
The federal government had put KASB Bank under a six-month moratorium last month after it failed to meet its capital adequacy requirement as prescribed by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
Under the moratorium, the bank has not been able to make payments of more than Rs300,000 to its deposit account holders since November 17.
The moratorium was imposed under Section 47 of the Banking Companies Ordinance, 1962. It allows the SBP to prepare a scheme for either the reconstruction of the banking company or its amalgamation with ‘any other banking institution’.
As per the ordinance, the amalgamation scheme may contain provisions for the transfer of business, properties, assets and liabilities of the banking company to the ‘other banking institution’.
The share price of KASB Bank increased Rs0.39 to close at Rs2.21 on Monday. One of the ‘penny stocks’ on the KSE, KASB Bank was the fourth most traded share on the bourse on Monday.
Its turnover clocked up at 9.2 million shares, which is slightly higher than the combined turnover KASB Bank’s share recorded since the beginning of December.
Two other private banks that were short of capital adequacy, Summit Bank and Silk Bank, have taken steps to improve their capital adequacy ratio and minimum capital requirements.
Summit Bank increased its capital by Rs7 billion through the right issue at Rs10 per share in order to meet minimum capital requirements. Similarly, Silk Bank achieved the capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of 10% last week.
Askari Bank’s share also witnessed unusual trading with 585,500 shares exchanging hands on Monday. Its share price came down Rs0.02 a share to close at Rs22.37.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 16th, 2014.