Granting of banking licence to Allahabad Bank

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced today that the Monetary Authority has granted a banking licence to Allahabad Bank (AB) under the Banking Ordinance. The granting of this banking licence took effect on 26 April 2006.

AB is incorporated in India in 1865. According to The Bankers, July 2005 issue, AB was the 13^th largest bank in India in terms of total assets.

After the granting of a banking licence to AB, the number of licensed banks in Hong Kong has increased to 133.

For further enquiries, please contact:
Ying-ying Cheng, Manager (Press), at 2878 1687 or
Hing-Fung Wong, Resource Co-ordinator, at 2878 1802

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
27 April 2006