Habib Bank Limited (Pakistan), founded in 1941, nationalised in 1974

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HBL

Type

Public Limited Company (KSE: HBL)

Industry

Banking Capital Markets

Founded

Bombay (now Mumbai), in 1941.

Headquarters Habib Bank Plaza, Karachi, Pakistan

Products

Loans, credit cards, Savings, Consumer Banking etc.

Revenue

PKR 76.08 bn (USD 903.07 million) 2009[1] PKR 13.4 bn (USD 159.07 mln) - 2009[1]

Net income

Website

Habib Bank Limited [1]

HBL (Urdu: ) commonly referred to as "HBL Pakistan" and headquartered in Habib Bank Plaza, Karachi, Pakistan, is the largest bank in Pakistan. The bank has a network of over 1450 branches in Pakistan and 55 branches worldwide. It has a domestic market share of over 40%. It continues to dominate the commercial banking sector with a major market share in inward foreign remittances (55%) and loans to small industries, traders and farmers.

Contents
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1 Services 2 History 3 Controversy 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

Services
Habib Bank offers the basic range of banking services to its customers, to include commercial, bank in the emerging markets.

History

The branches of Habib Bank in Pakistan

HBL Plaza in Karachi Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Pakistan's founding father, realized the importance of financial intermediation while he was campaigning for the creation of a separate homeland for the Muslims of India. He persuaded the Habib family to establish a commercial bank that could serve the Indian Muslim community. His initiative resulted in the creation of Habib Bank in 1941, with HO in Bombay (now Mumbai), and fixed capital of 25,000 rupees. The bank played an important role in mobilizing funds from the Muslim community to finance the All-India Muslim League's campaign for the establishment of Pakistan. Habib Bank also played an important role in channeling relief funds to Muslims hurt in the communal riots and violence that preceded the departure of the British from India. After Pakistan was born in 1947, Habib Bank, at the urging of Governor-General Jinnah, moved its headquarters to Karachi, Pakistan's first capital. This gave Karachi its first commercial bank of the newly formed Pakistan. The Habib family owned and managed the bank until the Pakistan government nationalized it on 1 January 1974.
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1951 HBL opened the first of 3 branches in Sri Lanka. 1952 HBL established Habib Bank (Overseas). 1956 HBL opened first of 5 branches in Kenya. 1957 or 1958 HBL opened a branch in Aden. 1961 HBL opened the first of what would become 6 branches in the UK. 1964 HBL opened the first of 4 branches in Mauritius and a branch in Beirut. 1966 HBL opened the first of 8 branches in the UAE. 1967 HyderMohamedali Habib founded Habib Bank PLC Zurich who became after nationalsiation of Habib Bank Ltd in 1974 the main branch of the family held Habib Bank.[2]

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1969 HBL opened first of 3 branches and an OBU in Bahrain. However, HBs branch in Aden is nationalized. 1971 HBL opened an OBU in Singapore and a branch in New York. 1972 HBL opened the first of 11 branches in Oman. HBL constructed Habib Bank Plaza in Karachi to commemorate the banks 25th Anniversary. 1974 The government of Pakistan nationalized HBL and HBL merged with Habib Bank (Overseas). 1975 HBL opened a branch in Belgium. HBL also merged with Standard Bank, a Pakistani bank. 1976 HBL opened a branch in the Seychelles, the first of two branches in Bangladesh, and a branch in the Maldives. 1979 HBL opened a branch in the Netherlands. 1980 HBL opened a branch in Paris and another in Hong Kong. 1981 HBL established Nigeria Habib Bank with 40% ownership. HBL also opened a representative office in Teheran. 1982 HBL opened a branch in Khartoum. 1983 HBL opened branch in the Karachi EPZ and a branch in Istanbul. 1984 HBL established Habib American Bank in New York with a branch each in Manhattan and Queens, and a US International Banking Facility. HBL also opened a branch in California. 1987 HBL opened in Australia. 1991 The Habib Group established a separate private bank, the Bank AL Habib, after private banking was re-established in Pakistan. HBL opened a branch in the Fiji Islands, and took over the Paksistani branches of failed bank, BCCI. 1992 In Nepal HBL acquired 20% of Himalayan Bank. 1995 HBL established a representative office in Cairo. 1990s HBL established Habib Finance (Australia), and Habib Finance International Limited, Hong Kong. 2002 On 13 June 2002 Pakistan's Privatization Commission announced that the Government of Pakistan had granted the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED), a subsidiary of the Aga Khan Development Network, rights to 51% of the shareholding in HBL, against an investment of PKR 22.409 billion (USD 389 million).[3] HBL's UK operation came close to being shut down due to regulatory issues with the Financial Services Authority. The issue was resolved by converting the operations to a subsidiary. Then Habib Bank Limited and Allied Bank of Pakistan merged their operations (Habib contributed its 6 branches and Allied its 4), into a new bank, called Habib-Allied International Bank, in which Habib Bank has a 90.5 percent shareholding, while Allied Bank has 9.5 percent. Simultaneously with the transfer of business to the new bank, both Allied and Habib Bank close down all independent operations in the UK. 2003 HBL received permission to open a branch in Afghanistan. 2004 On 26 February, the government of Pakistan handed over management control of Habib Bank to AKFED. The Board of Directors was reconstituted to have four AKFED nominees, including the Chairman and the President/CEO and three Government of Pakistan nominees.[4]

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2006 HBL sold the operations that it had established in Fiji in 1991 to Bank of South Pacific. 2009 HBL was granted permission to open Remnibi accounts in China. It already has training and shareholding arrangements with Urumqi Commercial Bank.[5]

Trivia
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Architect: Leo A. Daly Construction Companies: Haydari Construction Company Limited, Haydari Boring and Piling Company Limited and Abbas Builders Limited (all part of The Habib Group) Head office of Habib Bank. It was Pakistan's tallest building from 1963 until 2005. The bank remained the tallest building for 4 decades until MCB Tower was completed in 2005.[3] Tallest Building in South Asia for 9 Years, from 1963 to 1972.[3] When the 105m tall Express Towers were completed in Mumbai.[4] Habib Bank Plaza is the second highest building in Karachi today.

Controversy
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(July 2007)

Habib bank has long been scrutinized by intelligence officials monitoring terrorist money flows.[6] On 18 July 2007, Mariane Pearl, the widow of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, filed a lawsuit against Habib Bank Ltd over the 2002 abduction, torture and murder of her husband. The pending lawsuit alleges the bank and its subsidiaries knowingly conducted financial transactions and provided account services on behalf of Al Akhtar Trust, a Pakistani-based charity trust. Al Akhtar Trusts accounts have been used to provide financial support to terrorists.[7] However, HBL claims to have froze Al Akhtar Trusts accounts several years before Daniel Pearls abduction.[8] On 24 October 2007, Pearl's lawsuit against HBL was formally dropped. Lawyers for Mariane Pearl noted that Habib Bank Limited and the other defendants in the case had not answered the lawsuit filed in July (although Habib Bank Limited had denied ever supporting terrorism),[9] but they otherwise did not explain their reason for dropping the action.[10] The U.S. Federal Reserve Board and the New York State Banking Department criticized Habib Bank Limited for failing to address deficiencies in its compliance with U.S. anti-money laundering laws. After the U.S. Federal Reserve Board threatened formal charges, though none

were filed, Habib Bank Limited agreed to strengthen the bank's compliance.[11] More specifically, the Fed ordered HBL to strengthen its transaction monitoring systems and the filing of "suspicious activity reports" on transactions that do not fit the routine business patterns of the bank's customer base.

Habib Bank Limited commonly referred to as "HBL" and head-quartered in Habib Bank Plaza, Karachi, Pakistan, is the largest bank in Pakistan. The bank has a network of over 1450 branches in Pakistan and 55 branches worldwide.Habib Bank stands to gain from a possible deal as it would get some of the best customers who have very good credit history, the official said. He added that the Citibank had already cleared its portfolio of risky loans. After Pakistan was born in 1947, Habib Bank, at the urging of Governor-General Jinnah, moved its headquarters to Karachi, Pakistan's first capital. This gave Karachi its first commercial bank of the newly formed Pakistan. The Habib family owned and managed the bank until the Pakistan.

About Us HBL was the first commercial bank to be established in Pakistan in 1947. Over the years, HBL has grown its branch network and become the largest private sector bank with over 1,450 branches across the country and a customer base exceeding five million relationships. The Government of Pakistan privatized HBL in 2004 through which AKFED acquired 51% of the Bank's shareholding and management control. HBL is majority owned (51%) by the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development, 42.5% of the shareholding is retained by the Government of Pakistan (GOP), whilst 7.5% is owned by the general public i.e. over 170,000 shareholders following the public listing that took place in July 2007. With a presence in 25 countries, subsidiaries in Hong Kong and the UK, affiliates in Nepal, Nigeria, Kenya and Kyrgyzstan and rep offices in Iran and China, HBL is also the largest domestic multinational. The Bank is expanding its presence in principal international markets including the UK, UAE, South and Central Asia, Africa and the Far East. Key areas of operations encompass product offerings and services in Retail and Consumer Banking. HBL has the largest Corporate Banking portfolio in the country with an active Investment Banking arm. SME and Agriculture lending programs and banking services are offered in urban and rural centers. Rating HBL is currently rated AA (Long term) and A-1+ (Short term) and has a balance sheet size of USD 10.2 billion. It is the first Pakistani bank to raise Tier II Capital from external sources.

Our Brand Our brand identity is the outward expression of what we stand for as an organization. This is summarized in our vision, mission and is supported by our values. Vision Enabling people to advance with confidence and success Mission To make our customers prosper, our staff excel and create value for shareholders

Values Our values are the fundamental principles that define our culture and are brought to life in our attitudes and behaviour. It is our values that make us unique and unmistakable. Our values are defined below: Excellence This is at the core of everything we do. The markets in which we operate are becoming increasingly competitive, giving our customers an abundance of choice. Only through being the very best - in terms of the service we offer, our products and premises - can we hope to be successful and grow. Integrity We are the leading bank in Pakistan and our success depends upon trust. Our customers - and society in general - expect us to possess and steadfastly adhere to high moral principles and professional standards.

Customer Focus

We understand fully the needs of our customers and adapt our products and services to meet these. We always strive to put the satisfaction of our customers first.

Meritocracy We believe in giving opportunities and advantages to our employees on the basis of their ability. We believe in rewarding achievement and in providing first-class career opportunities for all.

Progressiveness We believe in the advancement of society through the adoption of enlightened working practices, innovative new products and processes, and a spirit of enterprise