Bank Albilad gets regulatory nod for capital hike

Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority (CMA) on Wednesday approved Bank Albilad’s request to increase its capital to SAR 7.5 billion from SAR 6 billion, through issuance of one bonus share for every four shares held by the shareholders.

The capital hike will be financed by transferring SAR 355.9 billion from retained earnings to the bank’s capital and SAR 1.14 billion from its statutory reserve, the CMA said in a statement.

Accordingly, the bank’s outstanding shares will be increased from 600 million shares to 750 million shares.

The extraordinary general assembly should be held within six months from the approval date and the bank should satisfy all regulatory requirements and applicable laws, the statement added.