"PRIVATIZATION" A WAY OUT TO ATTRACT INVESTMENT

KASB BANK OFFERS A WIDE RANGE

OF PRODUCTS, SERVICES IN VARIOUS
SEGMENTS
Bank has recorded an operational profit of Rs171 million in first half of 2014
An interview with Bilal Mustafa, President & CEO of KASB Bank
PROFILE
KANWAL SALEEM
(feedback@pgeconomist.com)

n an interview with PAGE, Mr.

Bilal Mustafa shared his views and
future plans in KASB Bank. He said
KASB Bank is regarded as the flagship entity of the KASB Group with
state-of-the-art technology providing
wide scale financial services to a diversified client base. The Group, established in 1958, has a long-standing tradition of trust and excellence in
financial services in Pakistan, specializing primarily in investment banking,
research, brokerage, asset management, Islamic finance and commercial banking.
In the first half of 2014, Mr. Bilal
Mustafa says the KASB Bank recorded
an operational profit of Rs171 million.
The operational profit is a reflection of
overall improvement in the bank. The
Banks total assets are on constant
growth which amount over Rs69 billion. Surplus liquidity of the bank aggregated to Rs16 billion as at June
30th 2014 invested in Government of
Pakistan (GoP) securities.
He said, KASB Bank takes pride in
being the only local bank to be part of
the US Dollar 2 Billion Eurobond issuance in the international capital
markets for Government of Pakistan.
The Bank is currently serving clients
through 105 locations in 44 cities of
Pakistan, offering unique and innovative financial solutions to large portfolio of investment, corporate and consumer banking customers.
Mr. Bilal Mustafa further said KASB
Bank offers a wide range of products
and services to facilitate its customers in various segments such as high
return investment plans, business accounts, saving accounts, agriculture
financing, and Home remittance services. KASB Bank also offers technology based innovative products and
services to keep its customers abreast

Mr. Bilal Mustafa is President & CEO of KASB Bank Limited. He joined the bank
in May 2013. He possesses over four decades of banking experience in various
capacities, initially with Habib Bank and subsequently with Allied Bank. In
addition to being the Manager of various branches, Zonal Chief, Circle Executive,
Area Regional Chief, Provincial Chief (Balochistan, NWFP, AJK and Punjab). He
has also worked as Chief of Audit and Inspection/Group Chief Human Resources and as the overseeing executive of various divisions of Central Office,
Karachi.
Mr. Bilal Mustafa graduated in 1965 and did his M.A (Economics) in 1967 from
Punjab University. His professional qualifications also include DAIBP. He started
his career with Habib Bank in April 1968, progressing into managerial positions
in various branches. He then joined Allied Bank in September 1973 as Manager,
and was gradually promoted to the level of Senior Executive Vice President. He
also worked as Chairman/Director First Allied Bank Modaraba. He retired from
ABL as SEVP in June 2007.
The Government of NWFP (presently Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) appointed Mr. Bilal
Mustafa as Managing Director of the Bank of Khyber where he took over the
charge on March 05, 2008. He served as Managing Director & CEO for five years.
He has undergone various foreign and national level trainings/courses during
his career.
with rapid changing banking environment throughout the globe. The services include, state-of-the-art Mobile
Banking solution, VISA Debit cards,
online banking, Internet banking and

ATMs installed at strategically located

KASB Bank branches to ensure customers have access to their funds
round-the-clock.
The Bank is working rigorously on

Pakistan & Gulf Economist, October 20 26, 2014

"PRIVATIZATION" A WAY OUT TO ATTRACT INVESTMENT

many new ventures to offer more innovative financial solutions with key
focus on service to ensure superior
banking experience for its customers.
In line with this strategy 21 Business
Branches have been introduced and
are functional to facilitate customers
in different business hubs of the country such as Karachi,
Lahore ,
Islamabad, Faisalabad, Gujranwala,
Multan, Rahim Yar Khan, Bahawalpur,
Sialkot, Sheikhupura, Rawalpindi,
Hyderabad and Kasur.
In addition to conventional banking, these Business Branches will
be offering Credit Facilities, Trade
Finance Solutions, Seasonal Financing, FOREX Product s and much
more.
He further said KASB Bank is also
aggressively working in the area of
Home Remittances taking the PRI initiative of SBP and Government of
Pakistan forward to inculcate the
culture of using legitimate means for
sending money to Pakistan while helping the economy grow. In the first half
of 2014 the Bank handled Home Remittances of over Rs2 billion.
KASB Bank, as a Super-Agent of
MoneyGram International has appointed Bank of Azad Jammu & Kashmir (BOAJK) as an agent for
MoneyGram International in Pakistan.

The agreement allows KASB Bank and

BOAJK to better serve the people of
Azad Jammu & Kashmir because most
of the population lives in UK and
BOAJK provides services both in and
outside of Pakistan. In addition to this,
KASB Bank is also focusing on UK
corridor through Aftab Currency Exchange (ACE), he added.
Furthermore, under the directions
of SBP-PRI, KASB Bank has introduced DirectBene, a web-based service of instant account transfer of remittance to the beneficiary accounts.
Using the DirectBene services, Xpress
Money, Aftab Currency and other valuable tie-ups can process home remittance transactions on real-time basis
for onward credit to the beneficiary
accounts, he said.
According to Mr. Bilal Mustafa,
KASB Bank Limited has diligently
proven its capability in handling the
remittance Portfolio of the Bank and
taking it to the next level with customer centric approach and enhanced
technological advancements. With 105
locations in 44 cities across Pakistan
and a remittance distribution network
of 1200+ outlets, the Bank has played
a pivotal role in achieving Pakistan
Remittance Initiatives objective of
facilitating and supporting, faster,
cheaper, convenient and efficient flow

of remittances, he said.
He said the efforts of KASB Bank
have been acknowledged by its partner agents time and again. KASB Bank
is offering Instant Account Credit facility through Xpress Money; in addition to that the bank has also won the
status of Super-Agent by MoneyGram
International.
Mr. Bilal Mustafa said, KASB Bank
as a socially responsible organization
also launched Lets Own Pakistan program under which several initiatives
were taken. On 23rd March 2014
Beach Cleaning activity took place at
Karachi Sea View where bank staff
along with the senior management
cleaned the beach. To promote the youth
and talent of our country, Rai Haris
Manzoor the youngest individual in the
world to clear O-levels exams from
University of Cambridge U.K at the
age of 9 years was honored with a cash
award for his higher studies. To help
drought victims of Thar KASB Bank
employees collected over Rs1.4 million
by contributing their one day salary
which helped in building ponds in 90
households to collect rainwater in a
village in Tharparkar called Khario
Nara. It is estimated that a water tank
will provide drinking water for a household up to three months of the dry
season.

Pakistan & Gulf Economist, October 20 26, 2014