Balance tilts from adversity to opportunities for Pakistan, said Dr Reza Baqir, Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, on Friday.
On Friday, he addressed the 5th Pakistan Banking Awards, where Meezan Bank Ltd (MBL) was named the Best Bank of Pakistan for the 2020 calendar year, while in three separate categories, Habib Bank Ltd (HBL) received three awards.
The award ceremony was organized jointly by the Pakistan Institute of Bankers, Dawn Media Group and A.F. With Ferguson & Co.
After giving a detailed picture of the financial institutions, the economy and the position of the central bank and its efforts to improve the economy, the SBP governor awarded the banks despite the difficult situation due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “While we’ve lost lives nationwide, including the State Bank and financial institutions, the situation has given us the opportunity to work together,” he said.
It was also an opportunity to think and formulate policies and strategies to help the people, economy and nation hit by the Covid-19, he added.
Meezan wins Best Bank; three prizes for HBL bags
“In a short period of time, the State Bank and banks injected unprecedented liquidity into the economy and it helped the economy keep running, saving millions of people from hunger and unemployment as liquidity was directly provided,” Reza said. He said more than 90% of small businesses profit from the State Bank’s money supply scheme in various categories.
He said the first wave of Coronavirus was crushed by the country and hopefully the second wave will be vanquished as well.
He said the digitalization progress was achieved as the nation earned $275 million via the Roshan Digital Account (RDA). He briefly addressed the efforts of the State Bank to fund the housing sector and said the potential for the growth of the housing and construction sector is enormous.
Earlier, Dawn Media Group Chief Executive Officer Hameed Haroon praised the success of the Pakistan Banking Awards team, the jury and stakeholders in his video message. He said the banking award was successful in creating competition between financial institutions.
As Best Bank for Small and Medium Enterprise, Best Investment Bank, and Best Customer Franchise Bank, HBL won three awards.
Khushhali Bank was given the Best Micro Finance Bank award. The National Bank has been awarded the Best Lending Bank for Agriculture.
The Best Emerging Bank for 2020 has been awarded to Faisal Bank. The businesses were awarded two Most Creative Company Awards in a new category. For this designation, Karandaz and Akhuwat were jointly awarded.