Summit Bank says deposits safe, secure

KARACHI: Summit Bank on Monday ruled out any risk to its normal banking practices due to the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) probe into local transactions of various banks.

“The deposits of our customers are safe and secure,” Summit Bank said in a statement. The private bank said the FIA’s investigation is related to particular accounts in certain branches and “has no bearing on the bank‘s operations, its strength and its management”. Summit Bank is defending the matters in accordance with law before the relevant forums.

The central bank said Summit Bank is working in normal manner and meeting its obligations towards depositors. “All rumors circulating in the media, particularly social media, about the Summit Bank are baseless and misleading. The public in general and depositors of the Summit Bank, in particular, are advised not to pay attention to such rumours,” the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said in a statement last week.

The SBP said the Supreme Court of Pakistan’s instructions provided in an order “in no way pertain to the regular operations of the Summit Bank and affects the depositors’ money”. The SBP reiterated its commitment to safeguard the interest of depositors and stability of the banking system of the country. Further, it reassures thatcountry’s banking sector is stable and strong.

Summit Bank advised the public and its depositors not to pay any attention to “adverse rumours”. “We reiterate that there is no risk to our normal banking practices and the deposits of our customers are safe and secure,” it added. “We further clarify that sponsor shares / equity of Summit Bank Ltd. are being treated similarly to all other banks operating in Pakistan in accordance with prevailing banking regulations.” Summit Bank said it will take legal action against anyone involved in illegal activity of propagating false reports and unauthenticated news on the social media.