Meezan Bank Limited ( ) is a Pakistani

Islamic bank Islamic banking, Islamic finance ( ''masrifiyya 'islamia''), or Sharia-compliant finance is banking or financing activity that complies with Sharia (Islamic law) and its practical application through the development of Islamic economics. Some ...

headquartered in

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

. It is the largest Islamic bank and the largest bank based on

market capitalization Market capitalization, sometimes referred to as market cap, is the total value of a publicly traded company's outstanding common shares owned by stockholders. Market capitalization is equal to the market price per common share multiplied by ...

in Pakistan.

History

Meezan Bank was founded as an Islamic investment bank in 1997 by Noor Financial, Pak Kuwait Investment Company, and

Islamic Development Bank The Islamic Development Bank (, abbreviated as IsDB) is a multilateral development finance institution that is focused on Islamic finance for infrastructure development and located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. There are 57 shareholding member st ...

. It was then known as Al-Meezan Investment Bank. In 2000, Meezan Bank was listed on the

Karachi Stock Exchange The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), founded as Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE), is a stock exchange based in Karachi, Pakistan. PSX was classified by MSCI as a Frontier markets, frontier market on 8 September 2021. Pakistan Stock Exchange was fou ...

. In 2002, Meezan Bank acquired Pakistan operations of

Société Générale Société Générale S.A. (), colloquially known in English-speaking countries as SocGen (), is a French multinational universal bank and financial services company founded in 1864. It is registered in downtown Paris and headquartered nearby i ...

. In its early years from 2002, Meezan Bank faced challenges gaining acceptance in Pakistan due to the unfamiliarity with

Islamic banking Islamic banking, Islamic finance ( ''masrifiyya 'islamia''), or Sharia-compliant finance is banking or financing activity that complies with Sharia (Islamic law) and its practical application through the development of Islamic economics. Some ...

and its stricter loan scrutiny. To overcome this, Meezan attracted deposits from religious Muslims and shifted focus to provide loans to SMEs, including those that previously avoided traditional banking for religious reasons, allowing it to serve an underserved segment. In 2013, Noor Financial tried to sell its entire stake of 49.1 percent, valued at $190 million, to a British Virgin Island-based company named Vision Financial Holdings, but it was blocked by the

State Bank of Pakistan The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is the central bank of Pakistan. Its Constitution, as originally laid down in the State Bank of Pakistan Order 1948, remained basically unchanged until 1 January 1974, when the bank was nationalised and the scope ...

. In May 2014, Meezan Bank agreed to acquire Pakistani operations of

HSBC Bank Middle East HSBC Bank Middle East Limited (Arabic: إتش إس بي سي الشرق الأوسط) is the largest and most widely represented international bank in the Middle East. History The Imperial Bank of Persia (Persian: بانک شاهنشاهی ا� ...

which included 10 local branches and access to 75 multinational corporate clients. A year later, Meezan Bank acquired Pakistan operations of

HSBC HSBC Holdings plc ( zh, t_hk=滙豐; initialism from its founding member The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) is a British universal bank and financial services group headquartered in London, England, with historical and business li ...

Oman consisting of a single branch. In March 2019, Noor Financial sold 34.3 million Meezan Bank shares to institutional investors for $20.92 million. Previously, Noor Financial divested its stake multiple times in 2018.

Profit

April 21, 2025 (MLN): Meezan Bank Limited (PSX: MEBL) has reported its consolidated interim financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, showing a profit of Rs22.42 billion, reflecting a 10.61% year-on-year (YoY) decline from Rs25.08bn in the same period last year.

Core Banking System

Meezan Bank, the largest Islamic Bank in Pakistan, has upgraded its core banking system, Temenos’ T24, to release 16.

Shareholding pattern

*Noor Financial Investment Company (35.25 percent) *Pak Kuwait Investment Company (30 percent) *

(9.32 percent)

References

Bibliography

* {{Authority control Pakistani companies established in 1997 Banks established in 1997 2000 initial public offerings Companies based in Karachi Companies listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange Companies in the KSE 100 Index Islamic banks of Pakistan Pakistani subsidiaries of foreign companies Kuwait–Pakistan relations