August 29, 2024 (MLN): The Board of Directors of Askari Bank Limited (PSX: AKBKL) has approved an enhancement in the authorized and paid-up capital of its wholly owned subsidiary Askari Currency Exchange (Pvt.) Limited, the company's filing on PSX revealed.
Accordingly, the authorized and paid-up capital stood at Rs1.2 billion and Rs700 million, respectively.
On August 27, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) issued the license for the commencement of operations to Askari Currency Exchange (Pvt.) Limited, a fully-owned subsidiary of AKBL.
The issuance of the license by the SBP for the commencement of operations follows the prior issuance of the Certificate of Incorporation to the exchange company by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP).
The Bank has duly caused this form/statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
To recall, AKBL announced on October 27, 2023, regarding the Board's approval to establish an Exchange Company as a wholly owned (100%) subsidiary of the Bank with an authorized share capital of Rs1 billion).
This development came after the SBP introduced reforms for the banks engaged in foreign exchange business to establish wholly owned Exchange Companies (ECs) to cater to the legitimate foreign exchange needs of the general public.
Accordingly, this action taken by the central bank comes in response to various regulatory issues that have been observed in the operations of ECs.
