Habib Bank Limited

Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Pakistan's founding father, realized the importance of financial intermediation while he was campaigning for the creation of a separate homeland for the Muslims of India. He persuaded the Habib family to establish a commercial bank that could serve the Indian Muslim community. His initiative resulted in the creation of Habib Bank in 1941, with HO in Bombay (now Mumbai), and fixed capital of 25,000 rupees. The bank played an important role in mobilizing funds from the Muslim community to finance the All-India Muslim League's campaign for the establishment of Pakistan. Habib Bank also played an important role in channeling relief funds to Muslims hurt in the communal riots and violence that preceded the departure of the British from India.

After Pakistan was born in 1947, Habib Bank, at the urging of Governor-General Jinnah, moved its headquarters to Karachi, Pakistan's first capital. This gave Karachi its first commercial bank of the newly formed Pakistan. The Habib family owned and managed the bank until the Pakistan government nationalized it on 1 January 1974.

HBL has grown its branch network and become the largest private sector bank with over 1,450 branches across the country and a customer base exceeding five million relationships.

In 1991 The Habib Group established a separate private bank, the Bank AL Habib, after private banking was re-established in Pakistan. HBL opened a branch in the Fiji Islands, and took over the Paksistani branches of failed bank, BCCI which was a major international bank founded in 1972 by Agha Hasan Abedi, a Pakistani financier.The Bank was registered in Luxembourg with head offices in Karachi and London. Within a decade BCCI touched its peak. It operated in 78 countries, had over 400 branches, and had assets in excess of US$20 billion, making it the 7th largest private bank in the world by assets.

The Government of Pakistan privatized HBL in 2004 through which Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development acquired 51% of the Bank's shareholding and management control. HBL is majority owned (51%) by the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development, 42.5% of the shareholding is retained by the Government of Pakistan (GOP), whilst 7.5% is owned by the general public i.e. over 170,000 shareholders following the public listing that took place in July 2007.

With a presence in 25 countries, subsidiaries in Hong Kong and the UK, affiliates in Nepal, Nigeria, Kenya and Kyrgyzstan and rep offices in Iran and China, HBL is also the largest domestic multinational. The Bank is expanding its presence in principal international markets including the UK, UAE, South and Central Asia, Africa and the Far East.

Key areas of operations encompass product offerings and services in Retail and Consumer Banking. HBL has the largest Corporate Banking portfolio in the country with an active Investment Banking arm. SME and Agriculture lending programs and banking services are offered in urban and rural centers.