Of 39 institutions, 32 banks are well on their way to meeting stipulated capital requirements with 8 banks already complying with the 2009 capital requirements. To the extent capital of banks is being enhanced through M&A process it has facilitated a degree of consolidation among conventional banks. SBP has now for few years invoked partial suspension of issuance of new bank licenses.
After a period of liberal licensing, SBP is no longer issuing conventional bank licenses in order to encourage sector consolidation. Responding to this, market has been dynamic as evident from the wave of aggressive 25 odd mergers and acquisitions some of them led by strategic foreign banks.