Meezan Bank President and CEO Irfan Siddiqui said that Bank is committed to fulfilling its vision of establishing Islamic banking as banking of first choice and its branch network would reach 150 by the end of this year.
Speaking at a ceremony held in Karachi on Thursday to celebrate the establishment of 100th branch of Meezan Bank, he said the Meezan Bank is now present in 31 cities of Pakistan and its branch expansion will continue during 2008 making one of the fastest growing banks in Pakistan.
"During the last six years, the Bank has tremendous growth in terms of deposits and assets and its assets have crossed Rs 67 billion mark, while total deposit base is over Rs 52 billion which is 42 percent of total Islamic banking industry," said Irfan Siddiqui.
While, Bank's financing stands at Rs 30 billion which is 34 percent of total Islamic banking financing and its total assets are worth Rs 64 billion making it 36 percent of overall Islamic banking assets. The Meezan Bank has more than 150,000 customers, he added.
At present, the Mezan Bank's branch network has extended to 100 branches as compared to only six branches in 2002, he informed. He said the Meezan Bank's share of branch network is now 55 percent of the total Islamic banking industry, as currently six dedicated Islamic banks are operating in Pakistan with a total of 186 branches besides 102 stand alone Islamic banking branches of conventional banks.
The Meezan Bank would continue to expand its branch network in 2008 with the addition of 50 more branches thus establishing a network of 150 branches across Pakistan by the end of 2008, he added.
Irfan said the Meezan Bank's Shariah Board consists of world-renowned Shariah scholars such as former Justice Muhammad Taqi Usmani, Dr Abdul Sattar Abu Ghuddah, Sheikh Essam M. Ishaq, and Dr Muhammad Imran Usmani
The Meezan Bank has a large product menu offering a complete range of Islamic banking products and services, such as: corporate and investment banking, commercial and SME, consumer finance, treasury and financial institutions, and asset management, he informed.
He said to ensure strict Shariah compliance in all Bank's operations the Meezan Bank has a dedicated Product Development & Shariah Compliance (PDSC) unit for the centralisation of product development activities, new product research, Islamic banking training, and Shariah compliance audit functions.
The department works under the direct guidance and supervision of the Bank's Shariah Advisor Dr Muhammad Imran Usmani and the Shariah Supervisory Board of the Bank. The asset management business is managed through a subsidiary Al Meezan Investment Management Limited and offers a number of mutual funds, said Irfan.