KARACHI: National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) has been awarded gold medal for its “Banking and Financial Services” by the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) during the 39th Export Awards ceremony at a local hotel. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif gave the award to NBP President Syed Iqbal Ashraf. This award is a top slot award and is given on the basis of NBP’s banking and financial services for the economy. This is the third consecutive year that NBP is honoured with this award. Applauding the services and contributions of different sectors of Pakistan economy, FPCCI organised 39th Export Awards ceremony . The event was graced by people from all walks of life including top bureaucrats, foreign diplomats, members of FPCCI and others. NBP is an internationally acclaimed and awarded institution, apart from the domestic awards; the bank has earned number of international awards. NBP recently won the globally recognised “The Bank of the Year in Pakistan 2015” award. The awards presentation ceremony was organised in London by ‘The Banker’, which is a flagship publication of the Financial Times Group of UK. The Banker selects only one bank from each of 120 countries across the world. Over 1,000 entries were collected and judges selected winning banks based on which they believe have made the most progress over the past 12 months. From Pakistan, only NBP has been chosen for the award for the year 2015. The Banker’s “Bank of the Year Awards” is regarded as the Oscars of the banking industry worldwide and for 90 years, The Banker has been the world’s leading monthly journal of record for banks globally. The aim of the awards is to highlight industry wide excellence within the global banking community. NBP is well known to be the largest bank of the country in terms of customers, rural penetration and lending portfolio. Being the “Nation’s Bank”, it also handles government treasury business. The bank is benchmarked as a catalyst for economic growth serving the diverse needs of the country through its large branch network, universal banking capabilities and multiple delivery channels. NBP has over 1,374 branches in Pakistan and has presence in 19 countries through 21 branches and affiliates covering all major financial centres of the world. NBP is considered as a brand accredited with trust and financial inclusion for unbanked segments. It also enjoys the highest ‘AAA’ credit rating from both JCR-VIS Credit Rating Company and PACRA. As of September 30, 2015, NBP’s pre-provision profit amounted to Rs 30.9 billion compared to Rs 22.8 billion for the corresponding period last year, registering an increase of 35%. The bank continues to focus on balancing growth, profitability and risk management resulting in a healthy increase in its balance sheet. The bank met challenges of higher market competition and declining banking spreads through volume growth, diversification and capitalising on its network for improving its balance sheet. Foreign trade, home remittances and loan syndications are the key focus areas of NBP in overseas operations. The bank caters to multiple trans-national credit and trade business through its overseas franchise. It is a leading player in loan syndication, both domestic and international, for large corporate transactions. Recently, NBP spearheaded the first ever local financing of an energy project worth $1 billion as lead manager. NBP, partnering with the government for economic development is also creating a dedicated trade desk to address the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) related trade and investment opportunities. Launch of new products, cross-sell, creation of commercial and trade hubs, capacity building through training and technology transformation are among the major initiatives taken for further market penetration. During 2014-15, NBP achieved a number of milestones including the successful roll out of the core banking system “profile” across its entire network. Expansion of ATM network from less than 300 to more than 800 was achieved with another 500 ATMs to be installed soon. The bank further increased its product offering by adding new deposit related products and having the largest agriculture portfolio amongst the country’s commercial banks offers a variety of agriculture lending products for farmers. NBP, to capitalise on growth in Islamic banking business, is continuously expanding its Islamic banking branches (IBB) with a target of over 150 IBBs by 2016.