The Bank of Punjab (BoP) has recently got permission from Banking Policy and Regulations Department, State Bank of Pakistan, to open 11 branches at new locations across Pakistan in 2011. Though we have been submitting a yearly request to SBP however apart from 2007, when we were issued five new licenses, our requests to open new branches were declined by SBP.
This is indeed a welcome change in SBP policy, which is due to number of positive initiatives taken by the management. We remain pledged to all around improvement and betterment of the Bank in both quantitative and qualitative terms. We endure a services oriented culture to achieve customer satisfaction with purpose driven products and efficient delivery mechanism.
The Bank of Punjab (BoP) has a strong network of 273 branches across Pakistan, equipped with modern banking facilities and state-of-the-art infrastructure. This year apart from opening new branches, BoP is continuing with renovation of many branches in both rural and urban areas of the country. It is of vital importance for us as a growing bank to have continuity in our growth pattern in terms of deposits, business and number of branches.
The President and CEO Naeemuddin Khan wants to steer the Bank to new heights and complimented the entire staff of contributing positively during the last two years. He plans to increase the total branch network to 300 in shortest possible time. He feels that low cost deposit is the life line of every bank and it is critical to keep on growing in terms of branch network. In a recent briefing he said that with practical measures, sustainable systems, controlled policies and strategic direction, there is turn around in Bank's financial strength and its public image has improved.
He also deliberated BoP's recent achievements which include, continuous increase in deposits, award of home remittance merit certificate (2010) by PRI (SBP), strengthened audit compliance framework, staff motivation initiatives, new branch outlook through renovations and most importantly Bank's role as lead arranger of wheat procurement worth PKR 71.3 billion this year on behalf of Government of Punjab.-PR