Banking has become a fast-growing need for people over the past few decades. Banks helps people to save their money and grow it over time. Banking also provides people a sense of security and certainty. Banking is a critical sector for any economy, and this is reflected in the thousands of banks around the globe. In Pakistan, the banking industry is made up of 31 banks, including 5 public sector banks, 22 private banks, and 4 foreign banks.
Pakistani banks offer excellent customer service and have expansive networks across the nation. This allows them to provide their customers with easy access to products and services. In addition, the best banks have strong financial stability ratings, indicating that they are well-prepared for economic downturns. Following are the list of the top banks in Pakistan.
Habib Bank Limited (HBL)
Habib Bank Limited (HBL) is a Pakistani multinational bank based in Habib Bank Plaza, Karachi, Pakistan. The bank is one of the largest in the country, with over 1,700 branches across Pakistan and over 24,000 employees.
HBL was Pakistan’s first commercial bank, established in 1939 by the Habib family. In 1951, the bank opened its first international branch in Colombo, Sri Lanka. In 1972, the bank relocated its headquarters to the Habib Bank Plaza, in Karachi which was the tallest building in South Asia at that time.
HBL becomes the first Pakistani bank to open a branch in Beijing.
The Bank is a leading full-service commercial bank. The key areas of operation are;
- Branch Banking
- Corporate & Investment Banking
- Treasury
- SME & Rural Banking
- Financial Institutions & Global Trade Services
- Transaction Banking and Islamic Banking.
HBL is one of the largest banks in Pakistan with over 1700 branches, 2,100+ ATMs globally, serving 27 million customers worldwide and a presence in 25 countries across four continents.
The bank has repeatedly been ranked as the top Pakistani company in the Forbes Global 2000. HBL is also the largest company in Pakistan in terms of assets.
Meezan Bank Limited
Meezan Bank is the first Islamic bank in Pakistan. Meezan Bank is a publicly listed company with a paid-up capital of Rs. 16.26 billion. It is one of the most rapidly expanding financial institutions in the banking sector of Pakistan. Its status as the first and largest Islamic bank in the country makes it a highly reputable organization. With its Vision of establishing ‘Islamic banking as banking of first choice.’ – commenced operations in 2002, after being issued the first-ever Islamic commercial banking licence by the State Bank of Pakistan.
The Bank’s headquarters are situated in Meezan House in Karachi, Pakistan. The bank holds a 35% market share in the Islamic banking industry of the country.
The Bank offers a wide variety of Shariah-compliant banking products and services through a retail banking network of more than 900 branches in over 250 cities throughout the country. The branch network is supported by 24/7 banking services that include over 950 ATMs, VISA and MasterCard Debit cards, a Call Center, Internet Banking, Mobile Application and SMS Banking facility, all of which are powered by a state-of-the-art T-24 core banking system.
The Bank adheres to the principles of Islamic Shariah and is widely known for its product development ability, Islamic banking research, and advisory services. To guarantee Shariah-compliance in all its products and services, the Bank has created a dedicated Product Development and Shariah Compliance department.
MCB Bank Limited
MCB Bank Limited is a Pakistani commercial bank with a network of 1,600 branches across the country. Headquartered in Lahore, the bank offers a range of banking and financial services to retail and corporate customers.
The bank was founded to provide banking services to the business sector of South Asia. The bank was taken over by the government in 1974. This was the first bank to be privatized in 1991.
The group has a foothold in the business sectors of the country such as banking, and insurance.
The bank has established an Islamic Banking unit to offer Shariah-compliant products and services, with specialized Islamic banking branches in six cities.
The bank provides various commercial and public sector banking services, including
- Deposit Accounts
- Women Financial Services
- Home Remittance
- Consumer Loans
- MCB Lite
- Investment Services
- Rupee Travellers Cheque
- MCB FX Portal
In 2005, the management of the bank decided to abbreviate its name from Muslim Commercial Bank Limited to MCB Bank Limited in order to explore international markets; they were facing resistance due to the word Muslim, especially from Western Countries, to avail license.
National Bank of Pakistan
National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) is a commercial bank owned by the Pakistani government and a subsidiary of State Bank of Pakistan. NBP is one of the largest banks in Pakistan. As of September 2020, it has 1,511 branches across Pakistan with assets of approximately USD 20.2 billion.
The bank provides various commercial and public sector banking services, including:
- The debt-equity market
- Corporate investment banking
- Retail and consumer banking
- Agricultural financing
- Treasury services
In 2020, the bank was designated as a domestic systemically important bank (D-SIB) by the State Bank of Pakistan.
United Bank Limited
UBL is a leading Pakistani multinational commercial bank with over 1,400 branches across Pakistan and 19 branches overseas. It has a customer base exceeding 4 million. It is based in Karachi, Pakistan. The bank has over $15 billion in assets, a workforce of almost 13,233 people, and clients from a variety of segments and industries all over the world.
It is one of the largest banks in the Pakistani private sector, which is a subsidiary of British company Bestway Group.
UBL provides a comprehensive range of banking services in wholesale and retail banking through its network of branches and presence across 12 countries in four continents, namely the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Yemen, UK, Switzerland, China, Oman, US, Tanzania, Iran and Pakistan.
Bank is a pioneer in branchless banking with its UBL Omni platform. The UBL provides 24/7 access to customers across the world. In 2017, UBL was declared Pakistan’s ‘Best Bank for Corporate Finance & Capital Market Development’ at the Pakistan Banking Awards.
Allied Bank Limited
Allied Bank Limited is one of the largest commercial banks in Pakistan and a subsidiary of the Ibrahim Group. With its registered office in Lahore, the bank has over 1400 branches and ATMs across the country.
The Bank is a leading full-service commercial bank. The following are the few services provided by Allied Bank ;
- Utility Bills Payment
- IBAN
- Allied Banker’s Cheque
- PRISM
- Branches and ATMs
- e-PRC Issuance
- e-PRC Verification
The bank was originally established in 1942 under the name Australasia Bank. It was renamed to Allied Bank of Pakistan in 1974, and Sarhad Bank Ltd, Lahore Commercial Bank Ltd and Pak Bank Ltd were also merged into it.
Bank Alfalah Limited
Bank Alfalah Limited, which was formerly known as Habib Credit and Exchange Bank, is a Pakistani retail bank that is owned by the Emirati company Abu Dhabi United Group.
The Bank is one of the largest private Banks in Pakistan with a network of over 779 branches in more than 200 cities across Pakistan with an international presence in Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Bahrain and UAE of 12 branches.
The Bank provides financial solutions to consumers, corporations, institutions and governments through a broad spectrum of products and services, including:
- Corporate and investment banking
- Consumer banking and credit
- Securities brokerage
- SME
- Agri-finance
- Islamic and asset financing
- Treasury
- Islamic Banking
Standard Chartered
Standard Chartered Bank (Pakistan) Ltd. is the oldest and largest international bank in Pakistan. It is also the first international bank to be awarded an Islamic banking license and the first to open an Islamic banking branch.
The Banks offers an array of services to both Retail and Corporate & Institutional Banking customers.
- Retail Banking provides credit cards, personal loans, mortgages, deposit taking and wealth management services to individuals.
- Corporate and Institutional Banking provides clients with services in trade finance, transactional banking, lending, securities services, foreign exchange, debt capital markets and corporate finance.
- Additionally, it also offers a complete suite of Islamic banking solutions under its Standard Chartered Saadiq brand.
Standard Chartered plc is a leading British banking and financial services company that operates in over 70 countries around the world. With a strong commitment to providing excellent customer service, the company employs around 87,000 people across its network of branches and outlets.
Askari Bank Limited
Askari Bank is one of the leading banks in Pakistan with a strong focus on commercial and retail banking. The bank is owned by the Fauji Foundation.
The Bank provide the most modern service to customers, they offer banking through internet. Askari Bank is the first bank in Pakistan to provide such a service to its valued customers which is absolutely FREE. Following are the basic features of bank:
- Account Statement
- Account Balance Inquiry
- Funds Transfer Within Askari Bank (FT)
- Inter Bank Funds Transfer (IBFT)
- View Scheduled Transactions
- Utility Bill Payments
- School/University/Government Payments
- Add Payee for Funds Transfer
- Add Billers for Utility Bill payments
The updated I-Net Banking Service is now more engaging, and has been expanded to include additional information of interest to customers with strengthened security features.
Faysal Bank Limited
Faysal Bank Limited is a Pakistani commercial bank that is a subsidiary of Ithmaar Bank from Bahrain. The bank is based out of Karachi, Pakistan and is named after Faisal of Saudi Arabia.
Faysal Bank Limited was established in Pakistan on October 3rd, 1994 as a Public Limited Company under the Companies Ordinance, 1984. The Bank’s shares are listed on Pakistan Stock Exchange. Faysal Bank is engaged in Commercial, Retail, Corporate and Islamic banking activities.
Faysal Bank operates in over 200 cities with 550 branches (414 of which are Islamic branches). With total assets exceeding 601.974 billion Pakistani rupees, the bank is a major player in Pakistan’s banking industry. Faysal Bank’s goal is to become the leading provider of Shariah-compliant products and services to its customers.
