Two banks in Pakistan are merging. The board of Summit Bank approved the bank’s merger with Sindh Bank at a share swap ratio of 1 new ordinary share of Summit Bank for every 3.85 ordinary shares of Sindh Bank. Sindh Bank, owned by the Sindh-government, and Summit Bank have already approached the Pakistan State Bank for approval of the merger. The potential transaction is expected to create a combine entity with assets of Rs 300 billion and 450 branches nationwide. This is the second merger of banks in 2017. Earlier, MCB Bank and NIB Bank have approved their merger via a share swap transaction. The two smaller Shariah-compliant lenders – Burj Bank and Al Baraka Bank – have also merged into a single entity in 2016.
