BankIslami acquires Citibank’s house financing portfolio

BankIslami signs first-of-its-kind deal to acquire house financing portfolio amounting to Rs953 million.

KARACHI: BankIslami has signed a first-of-its-kind deal to acquire Citibank Pakistan’s house financing portfolio amounting to Rs953 million. This is the first time an Islamic bank has acquired mortgage assets of a conventional bank.

“This acquisition will serve as a milestone for the Islamic banking industry in Pakistan and elsewhere,” said BankIslami CEO Hasan Bilgrami. He added that the acquisition of the housing portfolio is in line with BankIslami’s growth strategy in this segment.

Citibank’s house finance customers will now be required to switch to the Islamic mode of financing. “The transition for customers to BankIslami will be made easy and convenient,” said the CEO. Despite a general slowdown in the banking industry, BankIslami has expanded to 100 branches in less than three years.

A compound annual growth rate of 72 per cent over the last two years has made it one of the fastest growing banks in the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 28^th, 2010.