Silkbank

Silkbank Limited was a Pakistani commercial bank headquartered in Karachi. Founded in 1994 as Prudential Commercial Bank, it was renamed as Saudi Pak Commercial Bank in 2001 and as Silkbank in 2008. It was the smallest bank in Pakistan.^[2]

Silkbank Limited

Formerly	Prudential Commercial Bank (1994–2001) Saudi-Pak Commercial Bank (2001–2008)
Company type	Public
Traded as	PSX: SILK (1995–2025)
Industry	Banking
Founded	June 1994; 30 years ago (1994-06)
Defunct	2025
Fate	Merged into United Bank Limited (2025)
Successor	United Bank Limited
Headquarters	Karachi-75600, Pakistan
Key people	Shahram Raza Bakhtiari (CEO)
Products	Loans Credit Cards Debit Cards Savings Consumer Banking Business Banking Islamic Banking
Revenue	Rs. 8.283 billion (US$29 million) (2023)
Operating income	Rs. 20.655 billion (US$72 million) (2023)
Net income	Rs. 12.786 billion (US$44 million) (2023)
Total assets	Rs. 292.070 billion (US$1.0 billion) (2023)
Total equity	Rs. 26.352 billion (US$91 million) (2023)
Owner	Arif Habib Corporation (28.23%) Shaukat Tarin (11.55%) Zulqarnain Nawaz Chattha (7.75%) International Finance Corporation (7.74%) Nomura (3.93%) Bank Muscat (3.48%)
Website	silkbank.com.pk
Footnotes / references Financials as of 31 December 2023[update] [1]

In 2024, the State Bank of Pakistan approved Silkbank’s merger with United Bank Limited (UBL). The process was finalized in March 2025, with Silkbank officially integrating into the UBL through a share-swap agreement.^[3]

History

Silkbank was founded in 1994 as Prudential Commercial Bank.^[4] It began commercial operations on May 7, 1995.^[4] It was subsequently listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange.^[5]

In September 2001, Saudi Pak Industrial and Agricultural Investment Company acquired Prudential Commercial Bank and renamed it as Saudi Pak Commercial Bank.^[6][4]

In March 2008, a consortium comprising International Finance Corporation, Bank of Muscat, Nomura, and Sinthos Capital, led by Pakistani banker Shaukat Tarin, acquired a majority stake in Saudi Pak Bank for $213 million.^[7][8] In June 2008, the bank changed its name to Silk Bank Limited.^[7]

In 2015, Arif Habib Corporation acquired a 28.23 percent stake in the bank.^[9]

In March 2024, Silkbank Limited announced its merger with United Bank Limited (UBL) after both banks reached an agreement. On March 10, 2025, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) officially sanctioned the amalgamation of Silkbank with UBL under Section 48 of the Banking Companies Ordinance 1962. The merger became effective on March 11, 2025, fully integrating Silkbank's operations into UBL. As part of the agreement, UBL issued new shares to Silkbank shareholders at a swap ratio of 1 UBL share for every 325 Silkbank shares.^[10]