Barclays gets licence to operate in Pakistan
Thursday, December 20, 2007
By our correspondent
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan on Wednesday granted banking licence to Barclays Bank Plc, UK allowing it to conduct banking business in Pakistan.
Barclays will be established in Pakistan as a foreign banking company and operate in a branch mode with a capital of US$100 million. The bank will initially set up 10 branches in various cities of the country.
The issuance of licence to Barclays will add to the presence of foreign banks as it will be the seventh foreign bank operating in Pakistan in branch mode in addition to a number of foreign banks having locally incorporated subsidiaries. As per agreement for the licence, Barclays will need to comply with SBP guidelines if it plans to convert its status from branch mode to a local subsidiary.
Barclays has established a track record of successful and sustainable banking operations across the world. The Pakistani operations will benefit significantly from the synergies and knowledge that Barclays, as one of the largest financial services’ providers, can offer.
Furthermore, its presence in the market will translate into superior customer services and also contribute to financial inclusion and modernisation.
Barclays Bank Plc, the second largest global bank by asset size with regulatory capital of $68.138 billion, is a subsidiary company of Barclays Plc, which is listed in London, New York and Tokyo.
Barclays Bank is a major global financial services’ provider engaged in retail and commercial banking, credit cards, investment banking, wealth management and investment management services. The bank operates in over 50 countries employing 123,000 people and has customer/client base of over 27 million. Barclays Bank and its companies operate 3,913 branches in over 50 countries.
State Bank Governor Dr Shamshad Akhtar handed over the licence to Barclays Bank Chief Executive Emerging Markets, Global Retail and Commercial Banking Ahmed Khizer Khan at a ceremony held at the SBP, Karachi.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Akhtar said the entry of Barclays into Pakistan would not only strengthen the banking system of the country but would also bring a significant amount of foreign direct investment and technology to launch innovative financial products.
The governor highlighted the speed and efficiency with which both the SBP and Barclays concluded the deal. Given Barclays’ extensive network and experience, Dr Akhtar said she looked forward to Barclays as a partner in development of Pakistan which would gear itself in due course to enhance competition and efficiency in the banking system.
She said the entry of Barclays reflected the confidence of foreign banks in Pakistan’s banking system. In line with the recently released Financial Stability Review, she added, Pakistan’s banking system illustrated its capability to be strong and robust which had great prospects and potential to grow given the retail market as captured by its population base and growing per capita income.
“Pakistan’s banking assets in the last five years grew from Rs2,223 billion to Rs4,884 billion, advances from Rs1,062 billion to Rs2,603 billion and deposits from Rs1,678 billion to Rs3,691 billion,” she said.
Khizer announced the appointment of Mohsin Nathani as Barclays’ country head and managing director in Pakistan.
