NBP plans to launch various financial products

The National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) is planning to launch various financial products in dairy, livestock, gold financing and insurance sector, President NBP Syed Ali Raza stated here on Thursday.
He was talking to newsmen after the 57th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the NBP's shareholders here at a local hotel. Replying to various queries, President NBP hoped that some tangible development would be made about the opening of NBP branches in India during this year.
He told the newsmen that to facilitate the students, NBP in collaboration with IFC is planning to launch a programme to give them scholarships for higher studies.
Earlier, speaking at the AGM, President NBP dwelt at length on the performance of bank and its future vision.
On domestic front, he added, we want to be a financial super market by offering diversified range of financial products to cater the customers' needs.
Whereas, in the region, we want to be a prime bank by having a competitive edge in the South Asia, Middle East and Central Asia regions.
Highlighting the achievements and objectives of the bank, Ali Raza said that institutionalising the culture of market, empowerment of women, creation of talent pool, support to sports activities and contributions in relief activities remained the hallmark of the bank.
Besides, steps are also being taken to ensure compliance with Base l-II requirements, he added. About opening of bank branch in Saudi Arabia and its stake in Al-Jazeera bank, President said that as per the Saudi laws, sale of stake in Al-Jazeera is a pre-requisite for opening of branch in the Kingdom and work in this regard is underway.
Regarding the performance of bank, he said that the year 2005 has been a very profitable year and NBP's pre-tax profit was Rs 19 billion, an increase of 58 percent over the last year. Earnings per share jumped by over 100 percent from Rs 10.48 to Rs 21.51 in 2005. Pre-tax returns on equity stood at 62 percent, pre-tax return on assets further improved to 3.4 percent from 2.4 percent of the last year.