Summit Bank of Pakistan is proposing to convert its entire operation into Islamic banking in the next three years. The bank’s chairman Nasir Ahmed Lootah, a UAE based businessman, does not want to continue with the traditional banking in his Pakistani bank, said the bank’s CEO Muhammad Zahir Esmail. He said that the Bank has so far converted 14 of its branches into Islamic mode of financing while the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has allowed it to convert another five branches, which he said the bank is now working on. According to the rules of the State Bank, the bank cannot convert any conventional banking branch into an Islamic one overnight. Nasir Ahmed Lootah started his banking business in Pakistan after acquiring Arif Habib Bank in 2008. At that time most of the small banks were in crises after the crash of the Pakistani stock market. Later, he purchased Atlas Bank from Atlas Honda Pakistan as well as the sick Bolan Bank. He merged all the banks and named it ‘Summit Bank’. The bank now has a total capital of Rs 120 billion while its authorized capital is Rs 25 billion and the paid-up capital is Rs 10 billion.
