KARACHI: National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) President Syed Iqbal Ashraf has said the state-owned bank will open 175 Islamic branches in coming months besides establishing a wholly-owned Islamic banking subsidiary.
Inaugurating its 19th Islamic banking branch here on Monday along with State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Deputy Governor Saeed Ahmad, Ashraf said the NBP will open new Islamic banking branches and convert many others, which currently exist as conventional branches, into Shariah-compliant branches.
The Islamic banking branch network of the NBP exists under the branch name of ‘Aitemaad’.
Speaking on the occasion, SBP Deputy Governor Saeed Ahmad said Islamic banking is an emerging segment in Pakistan’s banking sector that needs to spread its wings and expand its services to agriculture, housing, small and medium-size enterprises and trade.
“Islamic banking needs work in untapped and unexplored markets that are not becoming part of the banking circle because of its non-Shariah products and services,” Ahmad added.
Deposits of the Islamic banking industry stood at Rs872 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2014, up 23.8% from March 2013. The market share of Islamic banking industry’s deposits in the overall banking industry stood at 10.7% in March, up 1% from the market share of 9.7% one year ago.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 15th, 2014.
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