Khushhali Bank (KB) has converted to a public limited company as of April 1, according to Pakistan’s English-language newspaper The Nation. KB was established in 2000 with support from the Asian Development Bank as part of the government’s Microfinance Sector Development Program. The Nation reports that KB is now incorporated with the Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and is licensed by State Bank of Pakistan to operate under Microfinance Institutions Ordinance 2001, which allows institutions to accept deposits. It is not clear whether SECP incorporation frees KB’s shareholders their pre-existing requirement to gain approval from the State Bank of Pakistan before selling shares.

KB’s 2006 audited financial statements name 15 banks as its shareholders including the National Bank of Pakistan; Habib Bank, in which a controlling interest is held by the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development; Pakistan’s publicly-traded MCB Bank; the Pakistani affiliate of the UK’s Standard Chartered; and global financial services provider Citibank. As of yearend 2007, KB reported 331,000 active borrowers and a gross loan portfolio of USD 47 million. Among Pakistani microfinance institutions reporting to the Microfinance Information eXchange, KB currently ranks highest in borrowers and second in portfolio size. More news about KB is available in the MicroCapital archives.