Mashreq Bank, the oldest privately owned bank in the United Arab Emirates is planning to move a major chunk of its jobs to cheaper location i.e. Pakistan as the coronavirus pandemic pushes financial companies to bring major changes in their operations.

As per Bloomberg report citing its sources, Dubai third-largest lender has notified its employees that it would move its jobs to locations including India, Egypt, or Pakistan.

The report added that Mashreq Bank will also cut a large number of existing jobs, and create new jobs for employees who move to what the bank calls the “centers of excellence.”

The bank employees 5,000 person as of September 2019 data. The report added that the relocation plan is expected to be completed in three phases by October 2021, under which some employees will be permanently allowed to operate remotely in the offshore centres.

Back in November, Dubai’s third-biggest lender recorded a sharp drop in net profit for the first nine months of 2020 to total Dh352 million, as higher impairment charges made a heavy dent in the financials. Last year's profit at this stage was Dh1.76 billion.

The bank slipped into a Dh183 million loss in the third quarter, against a profit of Dh536 million a year ago. In the second quarter, profit was at Dh85 million.