Summit Bank Limited has planned to step in Islamic banking in the next few months aimed at cashing in on the opportunities in commercial and domestic sectors with different Sharia-based products and services. President and CEO of Summit Bank, Hussain Lawai, told Business Recorder that as a first step Summit Bank had applied with State Bank of Pakistan for permission to initiate Islamic banking.
The Islamic banking has witnessed massive growth during the last few years and its share in overall banking industry has reached about 10 percent at the end of December 2012. "We are planning to launch interest-free banking services for our valued customers by introducing Islamic banking," Lawai said. He said that the brand name of Summit Bank's Islamic Banking services would be 'Noor' and it would focus on the biggest segments of commercial sector in volumes and values both on the basis of Mudaraba and Musharaka.
At present, the Summit Bank has filed a license application in State Bank of Pakistan whereas it is carrying out its homework to train staff members, branches network and technology deployments, he informed. The bank management has almost completed its major work to launch its Islamic banking services, he added.