Bank Asia is likely to acquire Bank Alfalah鈥檚 Bangladesh operations along with its assets and liabilities.
Bank Alfalah is one of the Pakistan鈥檚 largest commercial banks.
The bank informed about this development through a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange, on which it is listed, on Wednesday.
According to the notice, the board of directors of Bank Alfalah Limited has accorded it鈥檚 in-principle approval/acceptance of the non-binding indicative offer received from Bank Asia, Bangladesh to acquire Bank Alfalah Bangladesh operations, assets and liabilities.
The transaction is subject to compliance with all applicable rules and regulations and obtaining necessary regulatory approvals, according to the notice.
鈥榃e will now seek approval from the State Bank of Pakistan for Bank Asia to commence due diligence on Bank Alfalah, Bangladesh,鈥� the notice said.
Incorporating in 1999, Bank Asia acquired business operations of the Bank of Nova Scotia in Dhaka, first of its kind in the banking history of Bangladesh.
Later, it also acquired the Bangladesh operations of Muslim Commercial Bank Ltd (MCB), a Pakistani bank.
Bank Alfalah Limited was incorporated in Pakistan on June 21, 1992.
It is owned and operated by the Abu Dhabi Group, according to the bank web site.
The bank started its operations in Bangladesh in 2005 with the acquisition of Shamil Bank of Bahrain.
Since then, the bank has grown from a single branch operation to seven branches.
