Flying high: ‘BoK on course to become Pakistan’s leading bank’

The institution will soon revert to wholly Islamic financial models, says minister for finance.

PESHAWAR: Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Minister for Finance Muzaffar Syed on Thursday said the public has invested its trust in the Bank of Khyber (BoK) and the bank will soon become the country’s leading financial institution.

While inaugurating BoK’s 116th branch on Ring Road, Syed said over 50 branches of the bank provide financial services based on Islamic principles so far and that soon the entire institution will revert to wholly Islamic financial models.

“The Constitution is penned in light of Islamic teachings, yet there are numerous sectors of our society that do not comply with them,” he said, adding an interest-based capital market violates the fundamentals of faith.

The minister said the provincial government is committed to bringing normalcy to the region and is simultaneously striving at various fronts.

Also speaking on the occasion, Finance Secretary Syed Bacha Bukhari said the BoK’s objective is to expedite financial empowerment in K-P and will soon launch Islamic microfinance schemes that will benefit the people of the province.

BoK managing director said 14 branches will be set up in 2015 and the bank will fully adopt Islamic models within the next three to four years.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 20^th, 2015.