KARACHI: Barclays is celebrating its 3rd anniversary in Pakistan this week. The celebrations started on Saturday with the traditional cake cutting ceremony held at all office locations. Other events are being held this week, including musical evenings and inauguration of a branch at a new location on Tufail Road, Lahore.

Speaking on the occasion, Barclays Pakistan CEO, Shazad Dada said, “This is indeed a proud moment for us, to have successfully completed the three years of operations in Pakistan. Barclays is committed to investing in Pakistan with a long-term view and will Inshallah continue to grow in a sustainable manner. It has been a truly memorable journey so far, today we mashallah have a strong brand name, a sound infrastructure and a very talented team. Everyone associated with Barclays Pakistan, our valued clients and customers, our colleagues, our vendors, our community partners, have contributed tremendously to our success and I am grateful to each one of them.”

Since its launch three years ago on July 23, 2008, Barclays has been offering corporate and investment banking as well as branch banking services. During the past three years, Barclays has opened 15 branches in Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Islamabad and rural centres such as Rawat, Mangla and Akora Khattak, in addition to a sub-branch opened this year in the Diplomatic Enclave in Islamabad.

Today, Barclays serves more than 400 corporate clients and over 35,000 Retail customers. Barclays has also been actively supporting social development in Pakistan through various welfare projects since the start of its operations. To date, Barclays has contributed more than Rs.100 million through a variety of initiatives focusing on education, health and relief and rehabilitation. A project with Karachi Relief Trust, for constructing houses for flood affectees in a village in Rajanpur, is currently underway.