Global IME, BoK ink final merger deal

KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 16 : Global IME Bank Limited and Bank of Kathmandu Limited (BoK) have reached a final agreement regarding their merger.  Chairman of Global IME Chandra Dhakal and Chairman of Bok Prakash Shrestha inked the very deal yesterday in a program held in the capital.    

Earlier, the board members of both banks had decided to merge in the share swap ratio of 1:1. This means every 100 shares of Global IME and BoK would convert into 100 shares of the new bank to be formed after the merger.    The said ratio was calculated after evaluating their current/fixed assets, liabilities, and transactions.  

The merged entity will become the largest commercial bank in the country with a total capital of Rs 57 billion. Its paid-up capital will reach Rs 35.77 billion with total deposits of Rs 400 billion and loans of Rs 379 billion.

The new bank will be christened Global IME BOK Limited. It will consist of seven boards of directors—five from Global IME Bank including its chairman Dhakal. There will be two boards of directors on behalf of the BoK

Ratnaraj Bajracharya, chief executive officer of Global IME Bank, will continue to act as the chief executive officer of the new bank.

After the merger, Global IME BOK Limited will have 385 branch offices, 367 ATM counters, 275 branchless banking services, 61 extended branch offices, and 3 foreign contact offices, the bank said in a statement. The new bank is expected to have more than 4 million customers