Board of Directors of the MCB Bank has approved the proposed acquisition of Royal Bank of Scotland’s local commercial and retail operations. The expected transaction is subject to signing of the share purchase agreement, SBP approval and other customary regulatory approval/requirements. MCB revealed this in a notice sent to Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) on Monday. MCB further said the Board of Directors of MCB met on August 08, 2009 at MCB premises for announcing bank’s first half year financial results for 2009 and to consider proposed purchase of RBS, Pakistan (formerly ABN AMRO Bank). The top-level management of MCB has consented to participate in a bidding process, which is expected to be held soon for acquiring the stake of RBS, Pakistan by MCB Bank. According to a notice, the concerned parties are set to sign share purchase agreement soon which is being financially advised by Bank of America, Merrill Lynch and KASB Bank Limited on the proposed transaction. Some news reports have c...

(Bloomberg Report) MCB Bank Ltd., Pakistan’s biggest by market value, and Habib Bank Ltd. are competing to buy Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc’s local operations as the U.K. lender seeks to raise capital following a government takeover. MCB and Habib Bank, the second-largest, plan to apply to the central bank for approval to begin a due diligence review of RBS Pakistan, the lenders said in separate statements to the Karachi Stock Exchange today. The unit has a market value of 21.4 billion rupees ($266 million). The purchase would give the banks an edge in a nation that forecasts an economic revival starting in the next fiscal year. Pakistan’s economy may expand more than 6 percent annually on average over the next five years, Shaukat Tarin, adviser to the prime minister, said last month, as the nation seeks $6 billion in aid from countries including the U.S. and Japan. “Habib Bank would turn into the biggest by assets and deposits, while it is already the biggest by branches,” follow...