HBL
Habib Bank’s rapid growth, despite the disruption of Covid-19, is nothing short of remarkable. Total income in 2020 jumped 28% to $1 billion, while profits before tax soared 83% to $331.8 million. Net assets rose about 18% to $1.7 billion.
Under president and CEO Muhammad Aurangzeb, who took charge in early 2018, HBL has been on a transformational journey, focused not only on keeping the bank’s balance sheet clean and healthy, but also on boosting its digital offerings and leading the way in financial inclusion.
That focus helped HBL navigate 2020’s black swan event successfully, becoming part of the solution to help the country recover, says Aurangzeb. It did this by working closely with Pakistan’s central bank to offer the right amount of support to clients and their liquidity situation, and by leveraging its digital platform.
With the former, the main targets were the country’s retail clients as well as small and medium-sized enterprises, who were among the worst affected by the pandemic and the associated lockdown.