Qatar’s Al Khaliji, IBQ end merger negotiations

A proposed merger between Qatari lender Al Khaliji Commercial Bank and International Bank of Qatar (IBQ) will not proceed after the two parties failed on agree on final terms, Al Khaliji said.

“The parties have together decided to end negotiations for the proposed combination of businesses after final terms could not be agreed,” the company said in a statement on its website.

Existing governing, operational and financial structures in at the banks will remain unchanged, Al Khaliji said.

The proposed merger had been under negotiation for more than a year. George Nasra, managing director of International Bank of Qatar, said in February the deal would create Qatar’s third-largest bank with a shareholders’ equity of $2,1bn.

Al Khaliji, Qatar's sixth-largest bank by market value, is active in retail and corporate banking, as well as Islamic finance. It said the decision to end merger talks will not affect its performance going forward.

IBQ is unlisted and has around 14 branches in Qatar, according to its website. National Bank of Kuwait , Kuwait's largest bank by market value, owns a 30 percent stake in IBQ.

*With agencies