AlBarka Bank to open another 8 branches in Pakistan by December

LAHORE :AlBarka Islamic Bank will open another eight branches in Pakistan by the end of this year, bringing the total number branches of this Bahrain based bank to 20 in this country.

The subsidiary unit of Bahrain-based Albaraka Islamic bank in Pakistan currently has 12 branches in Lahore, Islamabad, Karachi, Faisalabad and Rawalpindi.

" The banking sector in Pakistan is booming these days; We are consolidating as well as expanding our operations in this part of the world," President of Manama-based Albarka Islamic Bank, Salah A. Zainalabedin told newsmen at the annual dinner of the bank at Royal Palm Country Club here Thursday evening.

The dinner was attended among others by Tariq Mahmood Kazim, Deputy General Manager, AlBarka Islamic Bank, Bahrain, Chairman WAPDA, Tariq Hameed, Country Head AlBarka Islamic Bank, Pakistan, Shafqaat Ahmad, President Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Shahid Hassan Sheikh, Chairman All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), Shafqat Elahi Sheikh and leading industrialists and bankers.

Talking about bank’s future plans in Pakistan, Salah A. Zainalabedin said that bank was planning to launch its credit card very soon to help its clients benefit from the state of the art online banking facilities.

To a question, he said that Albarka Islamic Bank might come up with the Islamic insurance product, Takaful within next couple of years.

About boom in the Islamic banking across the world, AlBarka Bank chief said , in addition to the establishment of Islamic banks across the Muslim world, more and more conventional banks were coming up with Islamic banking products.

" The introduction of Islamic banking products by conventional banks clearly shows that we are on right track," he said.

He said that Albarka group had its subsidiary banking units in Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, South Africa, Tunisia, Turkey and Pakistan.

He said that the recent merger of AlBarka Islamic Bahrain and Al Amin Bank Bahrain would have good effects on the financial health of the bank.

Responding to another question, he said that Albarka Islamic bank currently had no plans to acquire any Pakistani bank. “We want to consolidate our operations first before going for acquisitions," he said.