The management of Standard Chartered Pakistan is preparing to convert the conventional bank into a full-fledged Islamic bank to tap into the demand and acceptability of Shariah-compliant banking across Pakistan, sources told ProPakistani.
In this regard, the bank’s management arranged various sessions of progress and updates on the transformation of conventional banking into Islamic banking for the board of directors and executive committees of the bank in 2023.
The bank also arranged training sessions for staff comprising 2,000 employees on 43 different courses on Islamic banking products and services as part of its preparation plan. Sources in the industry said the bank’s management will submit its conversion plan to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and then apply for an Islamic banking license once the bank completes its preparation.
At present, Standard Chartered is operating 2 Islamic banking branches and 38 Islamic banking windows in its conventional banking branches across 10 cities, along with 112 ATMs and 20 CDMs. Out of Rs. 42.6 billion after-tax profit, the bank reported a profit of Rs. 10.6 billion from its Islamic banking operations, the annual report stated. The bank maintained various records and exceptions when it came to providing the services of Islamic banking in different domains.
Listed with the Pakistan Stock Exchange, the bank played a role as the lead and joint advisor for Pakistan to issue Sukuk worth $1 billion in the foreign market in 2017 and 2022. Standard Chartered Pakistan is the first international bank to get an Islamic banking license and to open the first Islamic banking branch in Pakistan twenty years ago, known as Saadiq. It also introduced the Saadiq Islamic Credit Card, which was the only credit card in the entire Islamic banking system of the country.
Rehan Shaikh, President and CEO Standard Chartered Bank Pakistan, also has strong expertise in Islamic banking, as he previously served as the Global CEO of Standard Chartered Bank for Islamic banking operations.
According to the annual report, the Shariah board of the bank recommended that the management hire relevant talent in different segments of the bank to achieve the target within the timeline set internally by the bank’s leadership. The bank should align its strategy with SBP’s strategic plan for 2023–2028, especially with regard to the transformation to a Shariah-compliant banking system, it further stated.
According to the directives of the Federal Shariat Court, all conventional banks and financial institutions have to end the interest-based system within the next five years. A number of banks, including Bank Mukramah Limited (previously Summit Bank), Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited, and Bank of Punjab (BoP), commenced their work towards the transformation plans from conventional banks to Islamic banks.
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Why all bank convert Islamic bank not possible please request 75 percent and 90 percent Islamic and 10 percent conventional banking why shariah court implement not possible