Qatar's central bank is considering the proposed merger between Masraf Al Rayan QPSC, Barwa Bank QSC and International Bank of Qatar QSC, Bloomberg Quint reported Feb. 28, citing Masraf Chairman Hussain Al-Abdulla.
Regulatory approval is the final hurdle to clear for the deal, which would create a Shariah-compliant lender with 178 billion Qatari riyals in assets, Al-Abdulla said at Masraf's annual general meeting, without specifying when that can happen.
Masraf will issue new shares to carry out the merger, with JPMorgan serving as adviser for the transaction.
As of Feb. 28, US$1 was equivalent to 3.64 Qatari riyals.
