Islamabad, Pakistan, June 19, 2009
–IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, today announced that Pakistan’s Bank AL Habib has joined its Global Trade Finance Program as an issuing bank, which will help increase the availability of trade finance for local businesses in Pakistan and support import-export transactions.
The IFC Global Trade Finance Program supports trade with emerging markets worldwide and promotes the flow of goods and services between developing countries. IFC provides partial or full guarantees against underlying trade instruments and covers the payment risk of participating issuing banks. This allows issuing banks to expand their trade finance transactions within an extensive network of countries and banks to enhance their trade finance coverage.
Mr. Zafar Amin, General Manager and Head of Financial Institutions and International Division Bank AL Habib, said, “We are pleased to join the Global Trade Finance Program and strongly feel that this partnership would support our trade finance business offering and enhance our relationship with correspondent banks worldwide which would further enable us to meet the needs of our clients and help them increase their business in new markets around the globe.”
K. Aftab Ahmed, IFC's Regional Manager for Global Financial Markets for Middle East and North Africa, said, “This partnership demonstrates our commitment to expand access to finance in Pakistan and specifically to SMEs. We have already supported our partner banks in Pakistan with more than $220 million (17 billion Pakistani rupees) trade risk coverage during this fiscal year. Bank AL Habib is one of the leading trade finance banks in Pakistan and we hope this partnership would further support country’s trade flows.”
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, creates opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. It fosters sustainable economic growth in developing countries by supporting private sector development, mobilizing private capital, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. IFC’s new investments totaled $16.2 billion in fiscal year 2008, a 34 percent increase over the previous year. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
About Bank AL Habib
Bank AL Habib is sponsored by the Dawood Habib Group and was established in 1991.The Group also owns and manages banks in United Kingdom and Africa. Bank AL Habib has a network of 238 branches with a Wholesale Branch in the Kingdom Of Bahrain. Bank AL Habib Limited offers savings and financing products to all market segments, and is a leading trade finance bank of Pakistan.
