A report appearing in a section of the press today has alleged that the State Bank has been pressurised by the Finance Minister for getting exemption in the paid up capital requirement for the Silkbank. The report is incorrect and misleading. It is clarified that no influence has been exerted on the State Bank by the Finance Minister in this regard.
Some private and public sector banks have been given December 2009 deadline to comply with the minimum paid up capital requirement of Rs 6 billion. It is evident from the above facts that the State Bank has not given any special concession to the Silkbank.
SILKBANK Silkbank granted permission by State Bank of Pakistan to meet the stipulated minimum capital requirement by December 31, 2009. This permission was not only given to Silkbank but several other banks were also granted the same timeline for meeting the capital requirement. The bank also clarified that Shaukat Tarin owns a minority stake in the bank and is neither a director nor part of the management of the Bank.
The majority shareholders of Silkbank include Nomura Investments, a leading Tokyo based Investment Bank with a network in over 30 countries and total assets in excess of USD 220 billion. Bank Muscat the largest bank in Oman having assets of over USD 15 billion and IFC (A World Bank Group Company).-PR