The Board of Directors of Saudi British Bank, an affiliate of HSBC Holdings, has recommended increasing the bank's capital by 50% to SAR 15 billion ($4 billion) through a bonus share issuance.

The announcement which came on Wednesday revealed that one bonus share would be issued for each two shares held. Accordingly, the number of the bank's outstanding shares would be raised from one billion to 1.5 billion shares, according to Arabian Business.

Aimed to increase and bolster the bank's business, the capital increase would be funded with SAR 2.5 billion from the bank’s retained earnings, added to SAR 2.5 billion from its statutory reserve.

The eligibility date for the bonus shares will be decided during an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) during the first quarter of 2015, the bank said.

Photo Credit: Arabianeye-Reuters