The National Commercial Bank (NCB), a large Saudi bank, offered to pay as much as $15.6 billion to acquire rival Samba Financial Group, according to a recent report by Bloomberg News. The potential banking takeover has implications for Samba Bank in Pakistan, which is a majority owned subsidiary of Samba Financial Group. As of June 25, Samba Bank in Pakistan has not issued a statement or any update to the Pakistan Stock Exchange. The Samba Financial Group, formerly known as the Saudi American Bank, was established in 1980. Interestingly, the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, also known as the Public Investment Fund, is the largest shareholder in both NCB and Samba, owning about 44 per cent of NCB and 23 per cent of Samba.

Source: Pakistan Today June 25, 2020 18:45 UTC