Daily Times

Karachi: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has issued an Islamic banking license to Faysal Bank Limited, which is now the second-largest full-fledged Islamic bank in Pakistan with the new name Faysal Islami.

This is the largest conversion of a conventional bank into an Islamic one in the world.

After the successful conversion from a conventional to Islamic bank, the bank will be operating a total of 639 Islamic banking branches. The bank had converted deposits of 500,000 accountholders worth over Rs600 billion (or 94%) into Islamic deposits in July 2022 compared to only 11% at the end of 2015.During the process, assets worth over Rs700 billion (or 86%) are converted into Islamic assets in July 2022.

Governor State Bank of Pakistan Jameel Ahmed said, “The conversion of the Faysal Bank Limited to Faysal Islami is a benchmark for Pakistan’s banking industry. Faysal Islami in their conversion, have provided a perfect road map to convert Pakistan’s financial structure on 100% Islamic system as per the vision put forward by the government of Pakistan.” He further added that State Bank is proud to have been a significant partner in this endeavour and looks forward to seeing Islamic Banking gaining ground in Pakistan.

Chairman Faysal Islami, Farooq Rahmatullah Khan said: “The team of Faysal Islami has made history with a landmark achievement of the largest conversion of a conventional bank into an Islamic one. I have complete faith that Shariah compliance will be our strongest motivator in making this transformation the most successful one too.”

On the occasion, Yousaf Hussain, President and CEO Faysal Islami said, “We need to acknowledge the support by our Board, the State Bank of Pakistan, the Shariah scholars, our teams, and most of all our customers for their complete confidence and support throughout the process.”

Faysal Islami is all set to make the next year commemorative for achieving this historical landmark with perfect execution of the plan.