Ithmaar Bank, a Bahrain-based Islamic retail bank, announced that its retail banking subsidiary in Pakistan, Faysal Bank Limited (FBL), has reported increased profits for the first half of 2017. Ithmaar Bank owns 66.6 per cent of FBL which is listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange and is mainly engaged in corporate, commercial, retail and consumer banking activities.
The announcement, by Ithmaar Bank Chief Executive Officer and FBL Vice Chairman, Ahmed Abdul Rahim, follows the review and approval by the FBL Board of Directors of the financial results for the half year ended June 30, 2017. “I am pleased to announce that FBL registered a profit after tax of $27.2 million (PKR 2.86 billion) during the first half of 2017, compared to a profit of $26.8 million (PKR 2.82 billion) during the corresponding period in 2016,” said Abdul Rahim.
“Despite increasingly challenging market conditions, with the Pakistan economy experiencing low interest rates as well as low exports, and foreign exchange reserves also declining and bringing the Karachi Interbank Offer Rate (KBOR) to record lows, the Bank has reported improved results,” he said. “To address these harsh economic realities, FBL has repositioned its strategy by mobilising low cost deposits, increasing recovery efforts from delinquent clients and enforcing strict control over administrative expenses,” said Abdul Rahim.—Agencies