Mubasher: Barwa Bank and International Bank of Qatar (IBQ) began early-stage talks about a merger.
Negotiation between the two Qatari lenders are in progress, but they could be delayed or fall apart, sources with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg News.
The potential merger would partially save a proposed three-way merger with Masraf Al Rayan that has been suspended in June, almost after a year and half of talks.
The three banks’ merger process would have created Qatar’s largest Shariah-compliant bank and the Middle East’s third-biggest Islamic lender with total assets of more than QAR 178 billion ($49 billion).
The smaller consolidation will create the sixth-largest lender in the gas-rich nation, with around QAR 82 billion in assets, according to Bloomberg's data.
