The Board of Directors of Meezan Bank Limited, in its meeting, held on October 24, 2019 approved the condensed interim unconsolidated financial statements of the Bank and its consolidated financial statements for the nine months period ended September 30, 2019.

The Bank posted profit after tax (PAT) of Rs10.94 billion for the nine months period ending September 30, 2019.

The meeting was presided by Riyadh S A A Edrees - Chairman of the Board, Faisal A A A Al-Nassar - Vice Chairman of the Board was also present.

The Board has approved 10 percent interim cash dividend (Re1.0 per share) for the third quarter of 2019 bringing the total dividend payout for the nine months to Rs3.0 per share (30 percent) as Rs2.0 per share ie 20 percent cash dividend along with 10 percent bonus shares were already approved during the first half of 2019. The Bank has maintained unbroken payout record since the Bank's listing on Stock Exchange in the year 2000.

Meezan Bank has the seventh largest branch banking network in Pakistan with 689 branches in more than 190 cities and the Bank is further planning to expand its network to facilitate access to Islamic Banking to more and more people in the country. The Bank's deposits grew by 9.1 percent p.a. since December 31, 2018 and reached Rs839 billion on September 30, 2019, which makes Meezan Bank seventh largest bank in terms of deposit as well.

Total assets of the Bank grew by 9.4 percent p.a. to close at Rs1.004 trillion. The Bank's Islamic Financings and related assets portfolio closed at Rs473 billion with exposure in all industry segments with an Advances to Deposit Ratio of 56 percent. The Bank's non performing financings ratio of 1.65 percent is well below the industry average of 9 percent which indicates the strong credit quality of the Bank's assets portfolio while its coverage ratio stood at 136 percent as on September 30, 2019.

Meezan Bank's focus on providing customized solutions to its customers through a wide range of products and services enabled it to become the Best Bank in Pakistan for 2018 as recognized by the Pakistan Banking Awards. The Bank is also leading the industry in consumer financing, emerging as one of the top players in car and house finance.-PR