March 26, 2024 (MLN): AL Habib Exchange Company (Private) Limited, a wholly owned (100%) subsidiary of Bank AL Habib Limited (PSX: BAHL) has commenced its operations today, March 26, 2024, according to a notice issued to PSX today.
The commencement of operations comes after the bank secured the license for operation from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
To recall, BAHL announced on September 22, 2023, regarding the Board's approval to establish an Exchange Company with an authorized share capital of Rs1 billion.
This development comes 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.
This action taken by the central bank comes in response to various regulatory issues that have been observed in the operations of ECs.
With this initiative, the SBP aims to consolidate and transform various types of ECs into a single category with a well-defined mandate.
