Askari Bank has joined the league of banks with over Rs. 1 trillion in assets and deposits. It is the 10th bank to have achieved this milestone out of 25 commercial banks in the local banking sector. The bank’s assets surged to Rs. 1.1 trillion by the end of September 2021 and its deposit mobilization increased to reach Rs. 1.01 trillion by the end of the same period, according to the quarterly financial report.
The bank’s performance was impressive in the past few years, particularly during 2018 to 2020 in which the profitability of the bank witnessed a staggering growth which reached over Rs. 10 billion—an all-time high level.
Banks that have achieved this benchmark are:
- Habib Bank Limited
- National Bank of Pakistan
- United Bank Limited
- MCB Bank
- Allied Bank Limited
- Bank Alfalah Limited
- Bank Al Habib Limited
- Meezan Bank Limited
- Habib Metro Bank (Assets only)
Financial Indicators
The bank did not maintain its profit growth in 2021 amid immense competition among peers (Habib Metro, Bank of Punjab, and FaysalBank), resulting in negative profit growth of 16 percent in the three quarters of 2021, decreasing to Rs. 6.7 billion from Rs. 8.15 billion profit of the same period last year.
Askari Bank witnessed a transition of leadership in mid-2021, which is being followed by further reforms and restructuring of human resources through retrenchment of the staff from mid to lower levels. The bank is also working towards the merger of its subsidiary with associated corporations these days.
The bank’s advances surged to over Rs. 450 billion whereas its investment surged to nearly Rs. 575 billion. It is operating with 537 branches including 95 Islamic banking branches, 49 sub-branches, and a foreign branch in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
