MANAMA: Albaraka Islamic Bank (ABIB), a subsidiary of the Bahrain-based Al baraka Banking Group (ABG), and Emirates Global Islamic Bank (EGIB) will merge their branches in Pakistan.
The merger will lead to their combined assets to rise to $582 million with a network of 89 branches covering cities and towns in Pakistan. This is in comparison to Meezan bank, the largest Islamic bank in Pakistan, whose assets are around $1.44 billion.
Saleh Abdullah Kamel, chairman of Albaraka group, said that the merger between the two banks reflected the group’s strategy to expand in the Pakistani market. It is a part of its strategy to strengthen its presence and operations in promising Islamic markets.
Khalid Al-Zayani, chairman of Al- Baraka Islamic Bank, said that the new bank would be named Al baraka Bank Pakistan and would be managed by ABG Group. He hoped that this would enable the bank to play a leading role in the Pakistani banking market and provide a full range of Islamic banking services.