ISLAMABAD: Fauji Foundation has been given the go ahead by Silk Bank Limited to acquire a majority stake in the bank. Financial terms, however, have not been disclosed.
Silk Bank allowed Fauji Foundation to conduct due diligence of the bank and the company intends to apply to the State Bank of Pakistan for the requisite approval, the bank said in a filing with the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Thursday.
The board of directors of the bank gave an in-principle approval for the Fauji Foundation to evaluate information that will be provided by the bank, according to the notice, The News reported.
The Fauji Group serves the interests of ex-servicemen. It runs more than 18 industries. The group already owns and operates Askari Bank.
Silk Bank was formerly the Saudi-Pak Commercial Bank. It is mainly owned by Arif Habib Corporation as a 28% shareholder, former finance adviser Shaukat Tarin is a 12% shareholder, International Finance Corporation 8%, Nomura 4% and Bank of Muscat 3%.
The bank recorded a net profit of Rs151 million for the nine-month period of calendar year 2020. Its deposits stood at Rs154 billion, advances Rs99 billion and equity Rs8.9 billion. The bank, however, has an accumulated loss at Rs13.5 billion, according to Alpha Beta Core.
