Samba Bank Limited has announced the resignation of its President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Ahmad Tariq Azam. The Board of Directors accepted his resignation, which will take effect from April 27, 2025, the bank said in a filing at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday.
Mr. Azam’s last working day at the bank will be May 21, 2025.
In the announcement, the bank’s Board stated that the appointment of a new President and CEO will be made in due course, with the details of the replacement to be disclosed before Mr. Azam’s final working day.
The resignation of the bank’s top executive marks a significant leadership change for Samba Bank.
Samba Bank, a subsidiary of the Saudi National Bank (SNB) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has faced multiple unsuccessful attempts to sell its stake over the years. In April 2024, Bank Alfalah announced its intention to acquire up to 84.51% of Samba Bank’s shares, held by SNB. However, on November 12, 2024, Samba Bank issued a notification on the PSX confirming that SNB had decided to halt the sale of its equity stake in the bank.
For the quarter ended March 31, 2025, Samba Bank reported a profit after tax of Rs166.85 million, reflecting a sharp 53.48% decline from Rs358.68 million in the same period the previous year.
The bank’s earnings per share also dropped to Rs0.17 from Rs0.36, marking a 52.78% decrease. This decline in profitability was largely driven by a 16.09% fall in net mark-up/interest income, which stood at Rs1.56 billion. The decrease in mark-up income was mainly due to a 27.05% drop in mark-up earned, which fell to Rs5.53 billion, despite a 30.61% reduction in mark-up expenses, which decreased to Rs3.97 billion.
