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Meezan Bank Ltd secured the “Best Bank Award” for the third time at the 10th Pakistan Banking Awards held in Karachi on Friday. The achievement highlighted the consistent performance and commitment to excellence of Meezan Bank.
The Bank of Punjab (BoP) dominated the event, winning three awards and drawing strong applause from the audience. It won:
- Best Bank for Agriculture Inclusion
- Best Bank for Women Inclusion
- Best Bank for SMEs
Meanwhile, Bank Alfalah received two awards. It won the titles of Best Bank for Digital Excellence and Best Bank for Customer Engagement.
Additionally, Kashf Foundation secured the award for Best Microfinance Institution. Faysal Bank earned the title of Best Mid-sized Bank, while HBL was recognised as the Best Bank for ESG.
Earlier, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmad, the chief guest at the ceremony, praised the role of the awards. However, he criticised banks for lending too little to the private sector and relying heavily on risk-free, high-yield government borrowing.
He warned that banks, depending on easy government returns, risk falling behind institutions serving underserved segments. He stated that the sector requires a fundamental shift over the next decade.
The governor emphasised four priorities. First, banks must embed digitalisation into customer experiences and operations, including mobile commerce, agriculture supply chains, credit scoring, and risk management. Second, they should adopt artificial intelligence and machine-learning tools to build smarter risk models and design tailored products for small firms and start-ups.
Third, banks need to integrate climate risk into credit decisions, set sustainability targets, and design green bonds and sustainability-linked loans. Fourth, they must realign their business models to better support Pakistan’s exporters.
During a video message, Dawn CEO Nazafreen Saigol Lakhani appreciated the decade-long efforts behind the awards. However, she expressed concern over Pakistan’s low economic growth. She said the figures indicate that banks have not done enough to stimulate the economy.
The awards ceremony was organised by NIBAF, Dawn Media Group, and A.F. Ferguson & Co. and brought together the country’s leading financial institutions.
