Commercial Bank Gets Approval for 70.84% Stake in Alternatif Bank

Doha, July 03 (QNA) - Commercial Bank of Qatar has received regulator's approval for the acquisition of a 70.84% stake in Alternatif Bank AS (ABank) from Anadolu Endustri Holding AS (Anadolu). The Qatari bank has received regulatory approvals from the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency and the Capital Markets Board of Turkey, a Qatar Exchange notification said Wednesday. The transactions related to the share transfer will be conducted as legally required and announced to public when completed, the notification said. Commenting on the approval, Commercial Bank Chairman Abdullah bin Khalifa Al Attiyah said, ""This is a very exciting milestone for Commercial Bank and we warmly welcome this decision by the regulators to approve this transaction. "The Turkish market represents an excellent opportunity both for our Bank, as well as for our customers in the GCC, as the trade and investment links between the two regions continue to expand." Commercial Bank Group Chief Executive Officer Andy Stevens said, "We look forward to formally welcoming Alternatif Bank to the Commercial Bank Alliance and to building on our objective to drive profitability by serving as a conduit for business between Turkey and the Gulf and exploring revenue and cost synergies." Commercial Bank's total assets as at March 31 this year were QAR 85.6 Billion. (QNA)