BoK being privatised

The NWFP government has decided to privatise the Bank of Khyber (BoK) to make it an active, progressive and successful bank. Talking to Business Recorder here Wednesday, BoK Managing Director Bilal Mustafa said recently the NWFP Cabinet had approved privatisation plan of the bank and decided to hand over the bank management to the private sector, which could run it on professional grounds.
"The provincial government, which enjoys majority shareholding in BoK, has decided to privatise the bank and hand over the management to those, who would prove 26 percent shareholding in the bank," Mustafa said. However, he added the process would be tied with the formal approval of the regulator - SBP.
He said presently the NWFP government has some 51 percent shareholding in the bank, while remaining 49 percent shareholding is held by private sector. Replying a question, the MD said the bank has yet to achieve the SBP Minimum Capital Requirement (MCR) condition and recently requested for further extension, which is likely to be granted in next few days. He said the "privatisation process is also part of our effort to meet the MCR condition."
The bank''s 41st branch started operation on Wednesday at Karachi and it is the seventh branch inaugurated during the last two week, he informed. He said presently the bank''s 18 Islamic and 23 conventional branches are working across the country, however, BoK has major operation in NWFP with 26 branches.
The MD said under the expansion plan some 18 new branches would be added to the bank network, and the branch network would reach 75 in 2011. "All new branches are online and offer facility of Auto Teller Machine (ATM), beside special Islamic banking desk," he added.
He said the bank''s Non-Performing Loans have posted some increase and the profitability has declined due to financial meltdown and war against terror in Swat and other parts of NWFP. The bank''s overall assets currently stand at Rs 35 billion with a credit portfolio of Rs 14 billion, he added.