Afghanistan Cancels HBL’s Operating License: Report

The central bank of Afghanistan has revoked the operating license of Habib Bank Afghanistan, reported Afghan Press.

According to Khaama, Da Afghanistan Bank has canceled the license of the Pakistani bank for non-compliance of banking laws of Afghanistan.

The governor of Central Bank of Afghanistan, Khalil Sediq, told that the audits of the central bank of Afghanistan revealed numerous violations committed by Habib Bank during the past ten years.

Sediq further added that the bank has also paid fines for the violations it had committed in the past ten years.

According to Sediq, one of the violations committed by Habib Bank was non-compliance in changing its capital in Afghanis despite the Central Bank of Afghanistan’s repeatedly issued warnings in the past 5 years.

On the contrary, HBL took the stance that it is wrapping up its operations in Afghanistan in order to optimize its foreign operations.

The central bank of Afghanistan, Da Afghanistan Bank, ordered the management of Habib Bank to stop receiving deposits from its customers. Customers are instructed to withdraw their funds from the bank account by June 10 of this year.

In 2016, HBL’s operations were shutdown in New York and it was also penalized with heavy fines by the concerned department due to a violation of the banking regulations.

State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) should intervene into the matter and supervise foreign operations of local banks particularly HBL for ensuring compliance of banking laws of operating countries.