During the quarter ended March 31, 2019, the profit after tax (PAT) of Meezan Bank, Pakistan’s leading Islamic bank and the Best Bank in Pakistan grew to Rs 2,851 million from Rs 1,915 million in the same period previous year, showing a growth of 49 percent. The earnings per share (EPS) on enhanced capital increased to Rs 2.44 per share.
Meezan Bank offers Shariah compliant banking services such as financing, trade and deposit related services to small & medium sized enterprises. The management combines the expertise of in-house product specialists and Shariah scholars to offer Shariah compliant financing solutions to meet the working capital finance, import finance, export re-finance long-term finance, documentary credit requirements and project financing needs of their clients/ customers. The financial experts of the mentioned in the report that the bank’s net spread increased by 57 percent mainly because of the management’s continuous focuses on sustaining higher volume of high yield earning assets portfolio and its re-pricing pursuant to raise in target rate.
Furthermore, the Bank’s current account deposits increased by 12 percent from the same period previous which also contributed to higher net spread. Furthermore, Meezan Bank also offers a comprehensive variety of financial services to a large number of corporate clients counting multinationals and public sector entities through partnering with them to build long-term relationships. These include traditional products required through firms for managing their working capital and trade finance needs, to more sophisticated and innovative solutions for large-scale investments.
By drawing on the expertise of in-house product specialists and Shariah scholars working under the guidance of our Shariah Supervisory Board, the management of the bank is capable of offering a wide range of Shariah-compliant financing solutions to meet the working capital finance, import export finance, funding for commodity operations, long-term finance, documentary credit requirements and project financing needs to its customers.
The management of the Bank also continues to maintain an optimal cost of funds by strongly relationship management and well customer experience. According to the financial report, the fees and commission income of the bank increased to Rs 1.5 billion from Rs 1.3 billion in the same period previous year-showing a growth of 18 percent mainly because of rise in trade business volume handled through the bank which also increased by 11 percent. It is also said that the bank aims to offer best-suited products and services to meet the financial needs for dissimilar segments of society.
[ads1]
Meezan Bank’s Corporate Banking relationship team collaborates across lines of businesses and partner groups counting Treasury, Cash Management, Investment Banking, Commercial Banking and Consumer Banking to develop and deliver suitable, value-added and innovative solutions while continuing to integrate and upgrade delivery platforms, business intelligence and driving operational excellence.
| Assets & Deposits of Meezan Bank (Rs in Mn) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Details | March 31, 2019 | December 31, 2018 |
| Total Assets | 927,160 | 937,915 |
| Deposits | 769,482 | 785,477 |
| Source: Meezan Bank | ||
Moreover, the Bank has also launched Islamic Agricultural Finance to enable the farming sector to avail Shariah-compliant financing for their needs. Meezan Bank’s Islamic financings and related assets portfolio closed at Rs 494 billion which is slightly lower than december 2018 primarily because of repayment of seasonal financing which is in line with their budget. The financial experts also recorded in the report that the bank sustained its financing exposure in all sectors and continued to actively pursue growth in SMEs/commercial and consumer segment. It is also recorded that the advance to deposit ration reached at 64 percent. The Bank was the largest investor in this Sukuk with a participation of Rs 85 billion in the total issue. The Sukuk is guaranteed through the Government of Pakistan and is eligible for SLR for the purposes of the State Bank of Pakistan.
In last I would mention here, Meezan Bank is still recognized as the leader and trendsetter in Islamic Banking in Pakistan by virtue of it being the first to provide a myriad of Shariah-compliant financial products for both domestic and corporate customers.