Although the National Bank of Pakistan and United Bank Limited have mobilized a deposit base of over Rs. 2 trillion, they are still far behind HBL.
The Bank’s fortress balance sheet rose by approximately Rs 600 billion during the quarter, hitting the Rs 4 trillion milestone, a 7 per cent increase over Dec 2020. Strong deposit growth drove this, as HBL became the first Bank in Pakistan to mobilize a deposit base of over Rs. 3 trillion, setting another industry record as per an official statement.
During the first half of 2021, the Bank’s profits increased by 19 per cent. HBL made a profit of Rs. 18.02 billion in the first half of 2020, up from Rs. 15.18 billion the previous year, with earnings per share rising from Rs. 10.32 in the first half of 2020 to Rs. 12.04 in the first half of 2021.
Konnect has formed an exclusive relationship with the Punjab Agriculture Division to give enrolled farmers a direct agriculture subsidy. Subsidies of Rs. 9.5 billion have been distributed to over 800,000 qualified farmers under the initiative. Konnect was still delivering the Ehsaas Kafalat and Emergency Cash Program in collaboration with the Pakistani government.
The Roshan Digital Account (RDA) portfolio continued to grow rapidly, ranking first in terms of accounts opened and activated. Since the proposal’s start in September 2020, the Bank has received about USD 219 million.
HBL Islamic Banking plans to turn 200 Islamic windows into specialized branches by the end of the year, bringing its total reach to over 300 cities. The Bank supports the government’s low-cost housing efforts through a variety of channels, including 916 dedicated Islamic branches and Islamic windows, as well as its branchless banking offering, Konnect by HBL. It has also opened a new trade hub in Karachi.
The Development Finance programme is driving HBL’s financial inclusion efforts. Through mid-scale pilots managed by a team of field-based, full-time agronomists who utilized handheld tablets to digitally onboard farmers onto HBL Pay, the Bank scaled up its 2020 proof-of-concept interventions 30 times.
Small-scale farmers were counselled on dramatically enhancing crop yields using customized planting plans connected to loan applications. In this programme, 3,200 acres of maize and 7,000 acres of rice are being planted as pilot projects.
In the first half of 2021, the Bank completed several deals in various industries, including oil and gas, telecommunications, cement, renewable energy, and real estate. Among the notable deals is Pakistan’s first Green Eurobond Issuance of USD 500 million, which was issued without the backing of the Pakistani government. HBL was an important part of the transaction as a Co-manager.
Likewise, in the largest Telecom sector financing of Rs 50 billion, HBL was the Joint Mandated Lead Advisor and Arranger and the Agent Bank. HBL’s trade division raised its market share to almost 12%. The company’s volume climbed by 89 per cent year over year (from USD 3.4 billion to USD 6.4 billion), while the number of transactions increased by 35 per cent.
