RHB Bank Bhd. and AMMB Holdings Bhd. will commence discussions about a possible merger between the two after securing approval from Bank Negara Malaysia.

The two parties have entered into an exclusivity agreement to negotiate and finalize terms and conditions of a planned merger, according to a June 1 release.

The exclusivity agreement will expire Aug. 30. The transaction is expected to be an all-share merger.

RHB and AMMB shares will resume trading on Bursa Malaysia on June 2. The companies' shares were halted from trading June 1.

Speculation about a possible merger between the two banks has been around since 2015. The two had held talks in 2015 but decided to suspend the possible deal due to political headwinds at the time, Malaysia's The Edge had reported.