Habib Bank Limited awarded Best Retail Bank in Pakistan at The Asian Banker International Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards 2019

• Habib Bank Limited expands its clients by embracing the external corporation proactively
• The bank strengthens information security comprehensively
• The digital transformation of HBL prioritised far ahead in the region

Dubai, March 21st, 2019 - Habib Bank Limited was awarded Best Retail Bank at The Asian Banker International Excellence in Retail Financial Awards 2019. The awards ceremony was held in conjunction withThe Excellence in Retail Financial Services Convention 2019at Conrad Dubai, U.A.E on March 21st, 2019.

Habib Bank Limited boost digitalisation by embracing the external corporation proactively

Habib Bank Limited (HBL) was the first commercial bank to be established in Pakistan held by the Government. The key areas of operations encompassed product offering and services in Retail and Consumer Banking. In 2017, the HBL Innovation Challenge was held to identify potential partners who can help us solve some critical financial services problems.Wukla, the online portal providing easy access to legal services, was one of three winners and was invited to use HBL as a platform for their solutions and products. The bank also deepened cooperation with National Incubation Center, aiming to support their products and services to the community of developers. By 2018, there were nine active fintech and technology partnerships with HBL. With the cooperation to external partners, the sales of retail banking through digital channelswas boosted by 15.76%, given a negative growth of retail fee income.

The bank strengthens information security comprehensively

HBL recognised that information was a critical asset and how information is managed, controlled and protected has a significant impact on the delivery of services. To strengthen the overall security posture, HBL has multiple solutions in place which is a combination of firewalls, malware protection, security events and incidents monitoring mechanisms as part of various monitoring, detection and preventive measures. HBL was also certified of ThePayment Card Industry Data Security Standard and International Organization for Standardization 27001:2013 Information Security Management Systems. In addition, HBL had a dedicated Information Security Operation Centre for centralised monitoring of HBL network against advanced persistent attacks, security monitoring of technology and related infrastructure & necessary response to information security incidents.  With the protection of risk management initiatives, HBL raised risk adjusted revenue by 9.6% in 2018.

The digital transformation of HBL prioritised far ahead in the region
           
HBL achieved many results in the digital process in 2018. HBL is the first Pakistani bank to offer loans digitally via online platform. By November 2018the active digital clients and customers opening accounts through digital tunnel tripled, accounting for 46% of the total new-in customers. It also took the lead in launching a payment application programming interface (API) in Pakistan. Through the partnership with the biggest e-commerce website and a ticketing solution start-up, the API will be able to further expand the banking businesses. Moreover, HBL introduced facial recognition as an authentication mechanism, catching up to the international process of digitalisation in banking field.

The International Excellence in Retail Financial Services programme is one of the most rigorous, prestigious and transparent awards programme for consumer financial services in the world. Covering all of the Asia Pacific, the Middle East and West Africa, the programme was instituted in 2001 to recognise the pursuit of excellence amongst retail financial institutions. The programme evaluates more than 300 banks and non-bank retail financial services players in more than 42 countries, via a rigorous audit-based approach. Detailed evaluation criteria for each category may be found at http://awards.asianbankerforums.com/retailfinancial/criteria-country

About The Asian Banker International

The Asian Banker is the region’s most authoritative provider of strategic business intelligence to the financial services community. The Singapore-based company has offices in Singapore, Malaysia, Manila, Hong Kong, Beijing, and Dubai, as well as representatives in London, New York, and San Francisco. It has a business model that revolves around three core business lines: publications, research services and forums. The company’s website is www.theasianbanker.com

You may visit the Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards gallery at https://www.facebook.com/pg/TheAsianBanker/photos/?tab=album&album_id=10157080239284804

For further information on the collaterals for winning banks, please contact:

Mr. Alfred Labicassi
The Asian Banker
Email: alabicassi@theasianbanker.com