The majority of shares are owned by companies that are part of Nishat Group or Malaysian bank Maybank.

Subsequently, its shares were de-listed from the Karachi Stock Exchange after acquisition by the government of Pakistan.

[4][5] The transaction was conducted under an "as is where is" arrangement, and it resulted in the Federal Government suspending most provisions of the Banks (Nationalization) Act, 1974 for six months, with the exception of section 5(6)(a).

[5][6] The privatization process continued on February 19, 1992, with the public offering of an additional 25 percent of MCB's shares.

[5] Following the divestment of a 51 percent stake, MCB was no longer subject to the Banks (Nationalization) Act, 1974.

[7] In 2008, Maybank (Malaysia) announced the acquisition of 20% of the stake in MCB Bank Limited's equity by purchasing a little more than 94 million ordinary shares from the Nishat Group.