The asset base of Islamic banking industry (IBI) continues to post healthy growth and with an increase of some 8 percent, total assets of IBI have crossed Rs 2 trillion mark by the end of second quarter (April-June) of this calendar year (CY17). According to State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Islamic Banking Bulletin issued Monday, assets of IBI witnessed some 8 percent increase or Rs 150 billion growth during the quarter April to June, 2017.
Overall, assets of IBI reached Rs 2.035 trillion at the end of June 2017 compared to Rs 1.885 trillion in March 2017. Year-on-year basis, total assets of IBI posted a growth of 16.6 percent as total assets stood at Rs 1.745 trillion in June 2016. On the funding side, deposits of IBI rose by Rs 156 billion during the quarter under review to reach Rs 1.720 trillion compared to Rs 1.564 trillion in the previous quarter.
Market share of Islamic banking assets and deposits in overall banking industry was recorded at 11.6 percent and 13.7 percent, respectively by end-June, 2017. Profit after tax of IBI was registered at Rs 8.8 billion by end-June, 2017 compared to Rs 6.1 billion in the same quarter last year. Other profitability indicators including Return on Assets (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE) also witnessed some improvement during the quarter under review and were recorded at 0.9 percent and 13.8 percent, respectively.
The capital base of Islamic banking industry increased by 5.6 percent (Rs 7 billion) during the quarter April to June, 2017 reaching Rs 134 billion compared to Rs 127 billion in the previous quarter. Capital to total assets and capital minus net non-performing assets to total assets ratios of Islamic banking industry were recorded at 6.6 percent and 6.1 percent, respectively.
Operating expense to gross income ratio witnessed a decline of 2.9 percent during the quarter under review. However, this ratio is still higher than that of overall banking industry''s average. The network of Islamic banking industry consisted of 21 Islamic banking institutions - 5 full-fledged Islamic banks and 16 conventional banks - having stand alone Islamic banking branches by end-June, 2017.
Branch network of Islamic banking industry was recorded at 2,320 branches (spread across 110 districts) by end-June, 2017. Province/Region-wise breakup of branches reveals that Punjab and Sindh jointly account for 77.1 percent share in overall Islamic banking industry''s branch network. In terms of cities, 55 percent branch network of Islamic banking industry is based in 5 five cities (Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Faisalabad). The number of Islamic banking windows operated by conventional banks having stand alone Islamic banking branches stood at 1,255 by end-June, 2017.