The Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) (; ) is a Pakistani state-owned agricultural

development bank Development finance institution (DFI), also known as a Development bank, is a financial institution that provides risk capital for economic development projects on a non-commercial basis. DFIs are often established and owned by governments or ...

headquartered in

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

. Founded in 1961 as ADBP, the bank was renamed in 2002 as Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) and was subsequently incorporated as a public limited company in 2002 under

Companies Ordinance 1984 The corporate sector in Pakistan was governed by the Companies Ordinance 1984 which was promulgated on 8 October 1984 and repealed the Indian Companies Act, 1913. It is now replaced by Companies Ordinance 2016. The Companies Ordinance 1984 is ...

. The bank provides agricultural credit and

banking service Retail banking, also known as consumer banking or personal banking, is the provision of services by a bank to the general public, rather than to companies, corporations or other banks, which are often described as wholesale banking (corporate ba ...

s to

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer ...

s across the country. It remains the largest public sector agriculture development financial institution in the country.

History

Zarai Taraqiati Bank's history goes back to 1952 when Agricultural Development Finance Corporation was founded under a Central Act for the purpose of expanding financial facilities and promoting the development and modernisation of

Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

in Pakistan. In 1957, the Agricultural Bank of Pakistan was established and advanced both short and long-term loans. It commenced operations in January 1959 in

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

and in April 1959 in

West Pakistan West Pakistan was the western province of Pakistan between One Unit, 1955 and Legal Framework Order, 1970, 1970, covering the territory of present-day Pakistan. Its land borders were with Afghanistan, India and Iran, with a maritime border wit ...

, following exemptions from certain restrictive Provincial Debt Laws. Subsequently, the Agricultural Development Bank Ordinance was enacted on 18 February 1961. It facilitated the merger of the Agricultural Development Finance Corporation and the Agricultural Bank of Pakistan, based on recommendations from the Credit Enquiry Commission. By 1961, the bank operated 73 branches, divided between 38 in West Pakistan and 35 in East Pakistan. On 14 December 2002, the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan () (abbreviated as GoP), constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, con ...

renamed the Agricultural Development Bank of Pakistan (ADBP) as Zarai Taraqiati Bank Ltd (ZTBL). ZTBL was registered under the Companies Ordinance 1984, and all assets, liabilities, and proceedings of the former were transferred to and vested in the ZTBL with effect from 14 December 2002.

References

External links

Agriculture Technology of ZTBL

Kissan Support Services (Pvt) Ltd

Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia & Pacific
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited State Bank of Pakistan Banks of Pakistan 1961 establishments in Pakistan Government-owned banks of Pakistan Companies based in Islamabad Pakistani companies established in 1961 Banks established in 1961