Bank Alfalah Limited, formerly Habib Credit and Exchange Bank, (بینک الفلاح لمیٹڈ) is a Pakistani retail bank that is a subsidiary of the Emirati company Abu Dhabi United Group.[2]
It is one of the largest private banks in Pakistan with a network of more than 890 branches in more than 200 cities across Pakistan with an international presence in Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Bahrain and UAE of 12 branches.[3] The Bank is listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange.
The roots of the bank go back to the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), which had three branches in Pakistan.[4] These were taken over by the State Bank of Pakistan to safeguard consumer interests, under a new identity of Habib Credit and Exchange Bank (HCEB).[2]
In July 1997, the Abu Dhabi Group, led by Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan of Al-Nahyan Group, acquired a 70 percent stake in then Habib Credit & Exchange Bank (HCEB), a subsidiary of state-owned bank Habib Bank Limited.[5] The Privatisation Commission facilitated the sale of 42 million shares on July 7, with the transaction amounting to $40.54 million.[5] Later, it was renamed as Bank Alfalah Limited.[2][6][7][8]
Bank Alfalah was incorporated on 21 June 1997, as a public limited company under the Companies Ordinance 1984. Its banking operations commenced on November 1, 1997. The bank is engaged in commercial banking and related services as defined in the Banking Companies Ordinance, 1962.[9]
In 2004, Bank Alfalah was listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange, following an initial public offering at a strike price of PKR 40 per share.[10]
