Islamic Banking in Pakistan has a very bright future as the systems developed by the State Bank of Pakistan through its Shariah Board and Islamic Banking Division (IBD) will fully support this important area of banking.
This was stated by Dr Ishrat Hussain, Governor, State Bank of Pakistan, while addressing the management team of Meezan Bank Limited headed by President Irfan Siddiqui.
The meeting was held at the head office of the bank where Ariful Islam, Chief Operating Officer of the Meezan Bank, gave a detailed presentation on the activities of the Bank.
Dr Imran Usmani, Shariah Advisor of the Meezan Bank also explained the working of the Product Development and Shariah Compliance department and highlighted the extensive range of products developed by the Bank under the guidance of the Shariah Supervisory Board of the Bank, said a statement issued here on Sunday.
Dr Hussain, in his address said that he was happy with the progress of Meezan Bank and said that a great responsibility lies on the shoulder of the officials of the Meezan Bank.
Being a pioneer in this field and the first bank, which got the license to establish Islamic Commercial Banking in Pakistan, Meezan Bank has to play a vital role in promoting Islamic Banking through opening of branches, especially in areas where it is urgently needed.
He also urged the management to focus on training and development of human recourses, which is needed to run the Islamic Banking system firmly entrenched in Shariah. The SBP Governor further said that the product development department of the bank must come up with continuous new products so as to provide a strong product menu to the customers.
He cherished the positive attitude of the management of Meezan Bank towards Islamic Banking and appreciated their investment in systems and technology.
On the occasion Irfan Siddiqui expressed gratitude to the SBP Governor for his continuous support towards Islamic Banking and Meezan Bank. He said that in only three years time, with the support of SBP and the government of Pakistan, the Bank has a complete product range, committed and trained human recourse, adequate infrastructure, IT expertise and advanced technology in place.
He further said that Meezan Bank is up with the strategy to open new branched with a liability/retail focus. He pointed out that the bank currently has a network of 25 branches but assured that the existing systems and infrastructure can support at least 80 branches.
He claimed that the growth of Meezan Bank would be the success story of Islamic Banking in Pakistan.
Istaqbal Mehdi, Managing Director of Pak Kuwait, who is also a Director on the Board of Meezan Bank, was also present at the occasion.-PR