HABIBMETRO ( ; stylized in

all uppercase In typography, text or font in all caps (short for "all capitals") contains capital letters without any lowercase letters. For example: All-caps text can be seen in legal documents, advertisements, newspaper headlines, and the titles on book co ...

) is a Pakistani

commercial bank A commercial bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make a profit. It can also refer to a bank or a division of a larger bank that deals with whol ...

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 a subsidiary of Swiss bank

Habib Bank AG Zurich Habib Bank AG Zurich is a privately owned bank founded in 1967 in Zurich, Switzerland, by Hyder Mohamedali Habib, son of the Bank’s patriarch, Mahomedali Habib. The Bank’s origins go back to 1941 when Mahomedali Habib established the first ...

History

1992–2011: Initial years, growth, and focus on trade finance

Habib Metropolitan Bank was established in 1992 as a subsidiary of

, following the government's decision in 1991 to allow private banks in Pakistan. The bank is named after Habib Esmail, the founder of

Habib Bank Limited Habib Bank Limited (often abbreviated as HBL) is a Pakistani bank headquartered at Habib Bank Plaza, Karachi with regional offices in Lahore and Islamabad. It is a subsidiary of Swiss-based organisation Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development ( ...

, and is owned by the descendants of Habib's third son, Mohammedali Habib. The other branch of Habib family founded

Bank AL Habib Bank Al Habib Limited ( ) is a Pakistani commercial bank based in Karachi. It is one of the largest banks in Pakistan with branches across the country. It also operates wholesale branches in Bahrain and Malaysia and offices in UAE, Turkey (Istanb ...

, which is owned by the descendants of Habib's elder son, Dawood Habib. The 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 the same year.

Kassim Parekh Kassim Parekh () (31 January 1931 – 11 February 2017) was a Pakistani banker who served as the 11th Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan from September 1989 to August 1990. Previously, he served as the president of Habib Bank Limited. Early l ...

, who had served as the president of Habib Bank from 1984 to 1988, was appointed as

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of Metropolitan Bank in 1992. During his tenure, the bank's growth was limited to

and

trade finance Trade finance is a phrase used to describe different strategies that are employed to make international trade easier. It signifies financing for trade, and it concerns both domestic and international trade transactions. A trade transaction requir ...

. In 2006,

's Pakistan operations were merged into Metropolitan Bank Limited and the bank was subsequently renamed as Habib Metropolitan Bank Limited. In April 2008, Kassim Parekh left HabibMetro and was succeeded by Anjum Iqbal, a former Citibank executive. During Anjum Iqbal's tenure, the bank's deposits grew at an annual rate of 9.5 percent, which was lower than the average

inflation rate In economics, inflation is an increase in the average price of goods and services in terms of money. This increase is measured using a price index, typically a consumer price index (CPI). When the general price level rises, each unit of curre ...

of 15.4 percent and the banking industry's growth rate of 13.7 percent. Iqbal's notable impact was shifting the bank's lending focus from the private sector to the government. After his departure in December 2011, Iqbal was appointed CEO of

's operations in Britain.

2011–present: Expansion outside of Karachi

In December 2011, Sirajuddin Aziz, former CEO of

Bank Alfalah Bank Alfalah Limited ( ), formerly known as Habib Credit and Exchange Bank, is a Pakistani commercial bank headquartered in Karachi. It is a subsidiary of an Emirati conglomerate, Abu Dhabi United Group. It is one of the largest private banks ...

, was appointed as the new CEO of Habib Metropolitan Bank. Aziz aimed to leverage the bank's reputation in

for Karachi's exporters by extending lending to their

supply chain A supply chain is a complex logistics system that consists of facilities that convert raw materials into finished products and distribute them to end consumers or end customers, while supply chain management deals with the flow of goods in distri ...

. He initiated expansion of the bank outside of Karachi, focusing on small industrial and agricultural clusters, particularly in Punjab. During Aziz's tenure, the bank's branch network grew by 77 percent, from 163 to 289 branches, with nearly three-quarters of the new branches being established outside Karachi and major cities. By June 2018, the bank had a presence in over 100 cities, compared to 21 cities prior to his tenure. Aziz also rebranded the bank as HabibMetro in an effort to enhance its appeal across Pakistan. During his tenure, the bank deposits grew by 17.3 percent annually, compared to the industry average of 13.1 percent. The bank's

net income In business and Accountancy, accounting, net income (also total comprehensive income, net earnings, net profit, bottom line, sales profit, or credit sales) is an entity's income minus cost of goods sold, expenses, depreciation and Amortization (a ...

also grew by 11.4 percent per year, which was higher than the industry average of 5.2 percent. In 2015, HabibMetro received

Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank to promote social and economic development in Asia. The bank is headquartered in Metro Manila, Philippines and maintains 31 field offices around the world. The bank was establishe ...

(ADB) award. In 2018, Mohsin Nathani succeeded Sirajuddin Aziz as the CEO of the bank.

Islamic banking

Habib Metropolitan Bank established its

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 ...

division in 2004, but it had a limited presence. In 2014, the division was branded as Sirat, following the trend of using Arabic terms for Shariah-compliant services.

FinCEN

HABIBMETRO was named in FinCEN leak, published by

Buzzfeed News ''BuzzFeed News'' was an American news website published by BuzzFeed beginning in 2011. It ceased posting new hard news content in May 2023. It published a number of high-profile scoops, including the Steele dossier, for which it was strong ...

and the

International Consortium of Investigative Journalists The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Inc. (ICIJ), is an independent global network of 280 investigative journalists and over 140 media organizations spanning more than 100 countries. It is based in Washington, D.C., with ...

(ICIJ). It had two suspicious transactions flagged.

References

External links

Official Website
Pakistani subsidiaries of foreign companies Companies listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange Companies in the KSE 100 Index Pakistani companies established in 1992 Banks established in 1992 Banks of Pakistan Companies based in Karachi 1992 initial public offerings 2006 mergers and acquisitions Mergers and acquisitions of Pakistani companies {{Bank-stub