Expansion strategy: Bank Islami to study acquisition

Bank Islami’s board of directors approved a plan to raise Rs3.5 billion via subordinated Islamic bonds

ABU DHABI: Bank Islami Pakistan, the country’s second-largest full-fledged Islamic bank, has received regulatory approval to study the acquisition of KASB Bank Limited. Last week, Bank Islami’s board of directors approved a plan to raise Rs3.5 billion ($34.8 million) via subordinated Islamic bonds to fund its expansion strategy. An acquisition could see Karachi-based Bank Islami add 105 branches to its existing network of 213, the lender said in a filing to the stock exchange late on Friday, while the transaction would require the conversion of KASB Bank’s conventional financial products into sharia-compliant ones. In November, the central bank placed KASB Bank under a six-month moratorium as it struggled to meet capital adequacy requirements.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 20^th,  2015.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.