KARACHI: Meezan Bank Ltd was crowned the country’s best bank for the third time at the 10th Pakistan Banking Awards held on Friday, as industry leaders gathered to celebrate excellence while also hearing strong calls for reform from the central bank.
State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmad, who served as chief guest, praised the awards’ role in promoting healthy competition but criticised banks for low private-sector lending and an overreliance on risk-free government borrowing. He said such practices hinder economic growth and must change in the coming decade.
Meezan Bank received the Best Bank Award, with its CEO accepting the honour amid applause. The Bank of Punjab (BoP) emerged as one of the night’s biggest winners, bagging three awards — Best Bank for Agriculture Inclusion, Best Bank for Women Inclusion, and Best Bank for SMEs. Bank Alfalah secured two honours for digital excellence and customer engagement, while Kashf Foundation won Best Microfinance Institution. Faysal Bank was named Best Mid-sized Bank, and HBL earned the award for ESG performance.
Dawn CEO Nazafreen Saigol Lakhani, in a video message, commended the decade-long effort behind the awards but expressed concern over lagging economic growth, stressing that banks must play a stronger role in supporting the economy.
Addressing the gathering, Governor Ahmad urged banks to shift their business models toward innovation and inclusion. He highlighted four priority areas: digitising customer and operational experiences, adopting AI-driven risk tools, integrating climate risk into lending decisions, and realigning services to better support exporters and underserved sectors.