Habib Bank Limited was aware of the filing of a lawsuit against it and many other defendants in the United States and wishes to clarify its position accordingly.
In a press release here of Friday, the Habib Bank said: "As the largest private sector bank in Pakistan with a history of 65 years, network of over 1,400 branches and a global presence in 23 countries, the bank provides services to more than five million customers in Pakistan and abroad.
"It conducts its operations in a professional manner and complies with the laws of each country in which it operates. The bank has a strong compliance programme under which customer's due diligence is strictly carried out, including verification of customer credentials. "It hilly complies with the account monitoring and reporting requirements of the regulators in Pakistan and abroad.
"The bank froze the accounts of the Al Rashid Trust, prior to the abduction of Pearl, and the account of Al Akhtar Trust many years ago as soon as these organisations were designated by the State Bank of Pakistan and instructions to freeze such accounts were issued to all banks.
"Habib Bank's New York branch is upgrading its systems and procedures and is complying fully with a written agreement with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the New York State Banking Department. Those agencies did not impose a fine on the bank. "The bank will vigorously contest the lawsuit."-PR