KARACHI: Egypt s No. 1 bank EFG-Hermes has expressed interest in buying the operations of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in Pakistan, a central bank official said on Thursday. Pakistan s MCB Bank had agreed in August to buy 99.37 percent of RBS Pakistan shares for about $87 million. But the deal collapsed last month after MCB failed to get regulatory approval. Yes, we have been approached by EFG-Hermes for permission to start due diligence of RBS Pakistan, said Syed Wasimuddin, chief spokesman of the State Bank of Pakistan. Last month, Pakistan s Faysal Bank also expressed an interest in buying RBS Pakistan. The central bank has yet to grant permission to both EFG-Hermes and Faysal Bank to start due diligence, Wasimuddin said. Industry sources familiar with the development said an EFG-Hermes team visited Pakistan recently to explore investment opportunities. They looked pretty interested in this acquisition and probably would be a serious contender to buy RBS Pakistan, said one industry source. Last month, EFG-Hermes sold its 28 percent stake in Lebanon s Bank Audi for $913.4 million. Its chief executive officer, Yasser El-Mallawany, told Reuters in a recent interview that the bank had $1.2 billion-$1.3 billion of spare capital after the stake sale that it would use for purchases and to venture into new banking businesses. The planned sale of RBS Pakistan is part of moves by part-nationalized RBS to sell assets globally as it tries to exit from up to 36 countries and focus on its mainly British core businesses. Before MCB Bank agreed to the now-lapsed deal, Egypt s Orascom Telecom Holdings and Rojhan Capital were also among those who had expressed interest in acquiring RBS Pakistan. By 0808 GMT, RBS Pakistan shares were up 0.53 percent, while the broader market was up 1.64 percent.
