F.P. Report
KARACHI: The Board of Directors of Habib Metropolitan Bank Ltd. held a meeting to approve the financial statements of the Bank for the year ended December 31, 2017. A final cash dividend of 30 percent was declared in the proceedings.
The Bank posted a profit-before-tax of Rs. 9.1 billion for the year 2017. These results have been achieved with effective execution of a broad-based strategy for organic growth, by mobilizing low-cost resources to improve deposit mix, controlling cost, and maintaining a focused approach towards recoveries against NPLs.
HabibMetro Bank’s total assets increased by 22.4 percent, compared to December 2016, and stood at Rs. 644.5 billion on December 31, 2017. The Bank’s deposit base exhibited a significant increase of 20.3 percent year-on-year to stand at Rs. 518.3 billion. An EPS of Rs. 5.26 was attained at the end of 2017 and capital adequacy marked at 17.2 percent, to exhibit resiliency.
HabibMetro Bank was recognized with the “Best SME Deal of the Year” award by the Asian Development Bank in 2017. The Bank was also awarded as one of the Top 25 Companies by Pakistan Stock Exchange. Furthermore, the Pakistan Credit Rating Agency (PACRA) endorsed HabibMetro Bank’s premium credit ratings of AA+ and A1+ credit ratings for the 17th consecutive year.
With an addition of 13 branches during 2017, the Bank’s branch network increased to 320 branches covering 94 cities across Pakistan. HabibMetro Bank is a subsidiary of Habib Bank AG Zurich, an international banking group that enjoys a financial presence in 8 countries across 4 continents.
The Board of Directors also approved the appointment of Mr. Mohsin A. Nathani as the President & CEO of the Bank, in place of Mr. Sirajuddin Aziz who has been elevated as the CEO Group Financial Institutions, along with other responsibilities, in Habib Bank AG Zurich Group. Mr. Nathani will assume charge, subject to SBP approval, during the second quarter of 2018.
Mr. Nathani is a seasoned corporate banker with over 25 years of banking experience, covering Asia (East & South-East), Middle East and Levant regions. He was the CEO of Standard Chartered Pakistan before moving to Standard Chartered PLC, UAE as CEO. Prior to that, he managed Barclays Bank Pakistan as its Country Head and Managing Director. He has also worked with Citi Group in Hong Kong and with ABN Amro in Singapore. Mr. Nathani is an MBA from the Institute of Business Administration, Karachi.
