Best bank: HBL
Established in 1947 as Pakistan’s first commercial bank, HBL has consistently been at the forefront of the banking industry’s evolution. Last year, it solidified its position as a trailblazer, delivering impressive financial results while demonstrating its commitment to innovation. In recognition of this it receives the award for Pakistan’s best bank.
HBL achieved a record profit before tax of $403 million in 2023, a 47% increase compared with 2022. Profit after tax surged to $205 million, a 68% rise year on year. The bank’s balance sheet grew by 19% to $19.5 billion.
Total revenue grew by 41% to $1.06 billion, setting a new record for both HBL and Pakistan’s banking sector. Deposits grew a robust 19% versus 2022, while rising interest rates translated into a 159-basis point improvement in the net interest margin, driving a 46% rise in HBL’s total net interest income. The bank continued to dominate in terms of fee income, posting another excellent growth rate of 34%.
HBL’s transformation is focused around creating synergy between the largest physical network in the country and its advanced digital capabilities to serve its base of over 37 million customers.
HBL has an extensive network of 142,234 touchpoints, including 1,728 branches and 49,796 Konnect agents. Meanwhile, the bank’s digital channels have witnessed remarkable growth, with users conducting 49% more digital transactions than in 2022.
Best investment bank: Bank Alfalah
Bank Alfalah, the country’s third-largest private-sector bank, is named Pakistan’s best investment bank in recognition of its innovation in a turbulent market and the significant progress it made over the past year.
A prime example is the tailor-made convertible debt product that Bank Alfalah created to finance the acquisition of Bayer’s assets by OBS Pharma. This innovative financial solution facilitated the necessary cash flows for the acquisition while giving OBS Pharma the flexibility to integrate operations smoothly.
Bank Alfalah also navigated the complexities of financing Shams Power Limited’s solar solution projects by securing a foreign guarantee from GuarantCo. This ensured the project’s viability and timely financial closure, setting a precedent for project financing in the sector.
In 2023, Bank Alfalah aligned its investment banking division with strategic objectives, prioritizing environmental, social and governance initiatives in loan transactions and generating foreign currency income to mitigate currency fluctuation risks. The team closed 16 transactions, nearly tripling the number from last year, and generated a 30% year-on-year growth in revenue.
The bank’s strategy generated a 120% increase in loan transaction numbers and a 42% rise in volume. Moreover, its renewed emphasis on capital markets led to a 400% surge in transaction numbers and a 396% increase in deal volumes.
Best international bank: Citi
Citi’s revenues grew 62% in 2023 to $97 million, the highest in its history. It saw an 83% increase in profit before tax to $77 million and 25% growth in its balance sheet to $1 billion.
The bank launched a range of automated payment solutions for financial institutions. It was the first to go live with a 24-hour clearing service and introduced Pakistan’s first instant payment scheme, RAAST. It also launched eSubmit, for the submission of account onboarding documents.
Digital payments and digital collection volumes were up by 24% and 151% respectively over the year.
The bank was exclusive financial adviser to Telenor in the sale of its Pakistani subsidiary Telenor Pakistan to Pakistan Telecommunication Company. This was the largest M&A deal in Pakistan in the awards period.
The bank also made significant contributions to education and social development. The bank supported Rahnuma Public School helping 520 children aged between 4 and 16. Citi provided a grant of $175,000 to the Citizens Foundation to train Pakistani youth in relevant digital skills.
Best digital bank: ABL
ABL has achieved impressive growth in digital banking. Its myABL Digital Banking internet and mobile platform reached 1.7 million users and processed transactions worth PRs1.5 trillion ($5.39 billion), a 76% increase year on year.
It has introduced several new features to this platform, including real-time vendor payments. It can also update computerized national identity card details issued by the Pakistani government, process bulk cheque issuance requests and manage debit and credit cards.
ABL has expanded its Payday Advance Salary loan programme to over 100 companies, resulting in the disbursement of more than 13,000 loans.
It was also the first Pakistani bank to venture into the metaverse, offering an immersive customer experience through a digital interface accessible via mobile, web and virtual reality headsets.
Best bank for SMEs: Bank of Punjab
Bank of Punjab (BOP) supported women entrepreneurs and focused on partnerships to drive regional economic development in 2023.
Small and medium-sized enterprise lending increased by 43% to PRs63.5 billion ($228 million), while customer numbers grew by 28% to 371,750.
One of the bank’s key initiatives was the launch of BOP e-Business Qarza, an end-to-end digital lending programme for commercial customers. This programme uses a statistical scorecard to streamline decisions.
The dedicated Naaz account was introduced for women entrepreneurs. By the end of 2023, the lender had financed a total of 1,980 female SME borrowers.
To extend its reach to customers countrywide, the bank also established 31 SME hubs within its 815 branches and conducted various seminars and sessions for SMEs.
The bank has partnered with Sindh Enterprise Development Funds to promote various sectors including agriculture, livestock, poultry, fisheries and information technology in Sindh province. The bank has also collaborated with the SME Finance Forum, managed by the International Finance Corporation. BOP is the only commercial bank from Pakistan to be a part of this forum.
Best bank for ESG: HBL
In 2023 HBL made improvements to its internal environmental, social and governance structure, updating its social and environmental management policy and developing a sustainable environmental management operating procedure.
HBL has created its green finance framework in line with its existing green taxonomy.
Its green project portfolio reached PRs37 billion ($133 million), following its involvement in over 70 renewable energy facilities over the awards period. These included projects in biogas, hydro, solar and wind, which generated a combined 3,727 megawatts of clean energy.
The bank is providing short-term working capital facilities to BioTech Energy, a company producing sustainable biodiesel.
The bank’s Tree Plantation Drive initiative planted 116,535 trees over the awards period.
Best bank for corporate responsibility: UBL
UBL has been a strong advocate for breast cancer awareness, collaborating with health organizations to conduct awareness sessions for its employees and clients. It has also supported healthcare infrastructure by sponsoring patients at the pediatric centre at Indus Hospital in Karachi, supporting the construction of the children’s hospital at Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation and purchasing a slit lamp for eye surgery at Shahpur LRBT Secondary Eye Hospital in Layton Rahmatullah.
UBL also partnered with educational institutions to provide vocational training, enabling participants to secure entry-level employment. This included a partnership with Habib University to sponsor students through its Level Up programme.
Overall, the lender donated PRs63 million ($226,000) to social causes. Its annual Ramzan Drive provided Sehri and Iftar ration packets in nine cities across Pakistan, and distributed Eid gifts to children.
Best bank for diversity and inclusion: UBL
UBL championed financial inclusion in 2023. It introduced the Urooj account for women. This offers a range of benefits such as no minimum balance requirement, competitive personal and auto loan rates, cashback, free school fee insurance and mutual fund discounts. It reached 21,000 in its first year, with PRs3.6 billion ($12.9 million) in deposits. Some of Urooj’s benefits were also extended to female customers holding Asaan and Asaan Digital current accounts.
UBL introduced its Female Alumni Reach-Out programme in 2023, offering former women employees the opportunity to return to their careers. This contributed to growth in the bank’s female workforce.
To support disabled customers, UBL offered special discounts and waivers on existing auto loans, home loans and personal loans. Current account holders were provided with coverage up to PRs2.5 million for unforeseen circumstances. The bank also opened 35 branches equipped with facilities such as ramps, wheelchairs and sign language-trained staff.
Internally, UBL launched a series of training sessions on diversity and inclusion for employees. It also arranged a Women Champions – Gender Sensitization and Financial Products for Women session for female employees to ensure they are prepared to better assist female customers.
Best bank for corporates: HBL
HBL has achieved strong growth in its corporate banking business, alongside impressive performance in transactional activity, cash management and trade finance.
The bank’s corporate business posted a net interest income of PRs35.4 billion ($127 million), an impressive 118% year-on-year increase. Additionally, it generated non-funded income of PRs7.4 billion, up by 7% year on year.
The bank successfully closed 26 corporate deals valued at over PRs765 billion. These were in a range of sectors including renewable energy, real estate, telecom, power generation and consumer goods.
The bank launched a global trade services function in 2023 to manage trade flows and foreign exchange liquidity.
