Bahrain's Al-Ahli Commercial Bank and the London-based United Bank of Kuwait (UBK) are set to merge by August and will be listed on Bahrain's stock market, reported the Bahrain Tribune newspaper.
The daily said the merger would be formalized after approval from the shareholders of the two banks.
"The meeting of the constituent general assembly seeking formal approval from shareholders is due by July 30th or early August this year to formalize the merger," Sabah al-Moayyed, Al-Ahli's first deputy chief executive, told the paper.
Moayyed said the two banks would form Al-Ahli United Bank.
UBK was created in 1966 with offices in London and New York. Its assets by mid-1999 were 2.57 billion dollars. The Kuwaiti government has a 30 percent stake in UBK through its pension fund, said AFP.
Other shareholders include Kuwaiti banks and private sector companies. Its main activities are commercial banking, real estate, aircraft leasing, private banking and asset management, said the agency.
Al-Ahli was created in 1977 and had assets at the end of 1998 of 816 million dollars. It is listed on the stock exchange in Bahrain, said the agency - (Several Sources)
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