KARACHI: Shareholders of Summit Bank Ltd passed a special resolution in an extraordinary general meeting on Tuesday to authorise the equity injection of Rs10 billion from a UAE-based investor.

Nasser Abdulla Hussain Lootah will subscribe to 3.98 billion new shares of the bank at Rs2.51 apiece to gain management control as well as 51 per cent shareholding. The transaction will generate Rs10bn in equity for the commercial bank.

The injection of fresh liquidity is meant to fix the bank’s capital adequacy issues. Without naming Summit Bank, the International Monetary Fund recently urged the State Bank of Pakistan to take a “more proactive approach” in addressing the matter of its undercapitalisation.

A spokesperson for the bank said the investor has already placed the promised equity with the bank as advance against the proposed issuance of shares. “Going forward, the investor intends to convert the bank to a full-fledged Islamic bank,” he added.

Mr Lootah already owns 0.51pc shares in the bank. According to a source, the commercial lender will change its board of directors in March and also unveil its new name by that time.

Published in Dawn, January 18th, 2023