According to its quarterly financial report, Habib Bank Limited (HBL) has entered into an agreement to purchase the entire shareholding of its foreign subsidiary, Habib Allied Holding Limited (HAHL), from its minority shareholder.
The bank will acquire 9.50 percent of HAHL’s share capital owned by Allied Bank Limited in accordance with a deal that is subject to the approval of the State Bank of Pakistan as the formal mandatory exercise.
Currently, HBL owns 90.50 percent of HAHL, with Allied Bank Limited owning the remaining 9.5 percent.
Habib Allied Holding Limited (HAHL), UK, is a subsidiary of Habib Bank Limited with four branches: two in London and one each in Birmingham and Zurich. It is the parent company of HBL Bank UK.
HBL proposed purchasing ABL’s entire 9.5 percent stake in HAHL, resulting in HAHL becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of HBL.
At various points in the past, the Pakistani bank’s foreign banking operations saw a change in shareholding and mode of operation.
In 1961, HBL opened its first branch in the United Kingdom. The UK branches of HBL and Allied Bank Limited were transferred to Habib Allied International Bank (HAIB) in 2001 and began trading as Habib Bank UK. HAIB acquired a 100 percent stake in Habibsons Bank Limited (HSB), a UK-based bank.
Following the acquisition, HAIB’s banking business was merged with HSB through a statutory transfer of business in December 2014 and continued to trade as Habibsons Bank.
HAIB changed its name to Habib Allied Holding Limited in September 2015. Habibsons Bank’s trading and registered names were changed to HBL Bank UK Limited in December 2018.
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