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Tag: Meezan Bank

  • Meezan Bank, NCCPL sign MoU to develop Shariah compliant products for capital market

    Meezan Bank, NCCPL sign MoU to develop Shariah compliant products for capital market

    KARACHI:  Meezan Bank and National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCCPL) have agreed to develop new Shariah-compliant products for the country’s capital market.

    Through this collaboration, Meezan Bank will extend its support in introducing Murabaha Share Financing System (‘MSF’), a new Shariah-compliant product, implemented by NCCPL, will help in extending Shariah-compliant stock financing facilities to stock brokers and their customers.

    The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Ariful Islam, Deputy CEO – Meezan Bank and Muhammad Lukman, CEO – NCCPL at a ceremony held at Meezan Bank Head Office, Karachi. Also present at the occasion were Mohammad Asif, GM – Head of Operations and Sajid Sikander – Manager Product Development from NCCPL; and Muhammad Raza – Group Head Customer Support, Ayub Baig – Manager Capital Markets and Hasan Faraz – Manager Product Development from Meezan Bank. 

    Under this agreement, both organizations will work to enhance the proportion of Islamic products in Pakistan’s capital markets and develop new Shariah-compliant financial instruments. Meezan Bank is also the first bank in the country to be inducted in MSF System, a Shariah-compliant product of NCCPL, as a Non Broker Clearing Member for the purpose of extending Shariah-compliant financing to the Stock Brokers and their customers in Pakistan.

    Commenting on this occasion, Ariful Islam – Deputy CEO of Meezan Bank, said: “Islamic capital markets form an integral part of the country’s Islamic financial system and offer great potential for product innovation to suit the needs of the customers. Through this collaboration, Meezan Bank aims to overcome the challenges associated with new product development for this sector, while also encouraging growth in both the markets as well as economic investment.”

    “This collaboration will pave way for introducing new and innovative Shariah-compliant products in capital markets,” said Mr. Muhammad Lukman, CEO – NCCPL on the occasion.

  • Meezan Bank Sharia Board approves issuance of Ijara Sukuk

    Meezan Bank Sharia Board approves issuance of Ijara Sukuk

    KARACHI: Meezan Bank’s Shariah Board, In its 51st Shariah Board meeting, approved Shariah structure for issuance of new Government of Pakistan (GoP) Ijarah Sukuks.

    The 51st Shariah Board meeting of Meezan Bank at Dar ul Uloom, Korangi, Karachi. The meeting was chaired by Justice (Retd.) Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani – Chairman Shariah Supervisory Board, Meezan Bank and was attended by Dr. Imran Ashraf Usmani – Vice Chairman Shariah Supervisory Board, Mufti Naveed Alam – Resident Shariah Board Member as well as the Bank’s senior management including Ariful Islam – Deputy CEO, Ahmed Ali Siddiqui – Group Head Shariah Compliance and other key officials. Sheikh Esam Mohamed Ishaq – Shariah Supervisory Board Member attended the meeting via video call.

    The Shariah Board reviewed several key issues including transaction structure for the issuance of new GoP Ijarah Sukuk in detail. Justice (Retd.) Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani – Chairman Shariah Supervisory Board approved the proposed Sukuk structure and showed his comfort and appreciation for the recent efforts made by the Government of Pakistan in the issuance of Sukuks and promotion of Islamic Banking in the country.

    The Shariah Board also approved the product of Meezan Islamic Charge Card, an innovative product offering the customers convenience and flexibility and upon the use of which customers can avail various benefits and discounts.

  • Agha Steel to install 2.25MW solar power project

    Agha Steel to install 2.25MW solar power project

    KARACHI: Agha Steel Industries has signed a contract with Renewable Power Pvt. Ltd. for installing a 2.25 Megawatt solar power project at its production facility located at Port Qasim Karachi, a statement said on Wednesday.

    Meezan Bank Ltd is the banking partner for this transaction. This would be among one of the largest solar power projects installed by a steel manufacturer in Pakistan.

    According to a statement this project will initiate a Green Steel Revolution at Agha Steel Industries by helping in sustainability of its energy mix and at the same time reducing the burden on national grid. The 2.25 Megawatt solar power project would also reduce the carbon emission by 46,000 tons in a lifespan of 20 years.

    This solar power plant, being installed on the self-consumption basis, will produce around 3.3 million units of clean and renewable electricity every year, which will result in a significant drop in the carbon footprint of Agha Steel Industries. The company is currently undergoing an expansion to increase its rebar capacity to 650,000 from current 250,000 tons per.

  • Meezan Bank announces direct payment integration with VISA Card

    Meezan Bank announces direct payment integration with VISA Card

    KARACHI: Meezan Bank Limited has announced direct integration for routing settlement of Visa card transactions.

    A statement on Tuesday said the shift comes in continuation with its direct integration with Mastercard last year, bringing the bank a step closer to its goal of transforming its customers’ payment experience, enabling faster and more seamless transactions.

    Meezan Debit Card users will continue to enjoy the Visa and Mastercard benefits while allowing the Bank to offer faster settlements and reducing friction in payments. 

    Shariq Mubeen, Head of Alternate Distribution Channels, said: “The bank always endeavors to provide the best transaction experience to its customers.

    “Direct integration with Global Payment Schemes not only allows us to remove an additional hop in transaction processing but it also makes detailed view of each transaction available to the bank for more efficient management of cards portfolio.

    “We are excited with this development and look forward to various others significant improvements in our IT infrastructure and platforms to support the growing business of the Bank.”

  • Meezan Bank becomes pioneer in Sharia financing for low cost housing

    Meezan Bank becomes pioneer in Sharia financing for low cost housing

    KARACHI: Meezan Bank has become the first financial institution in the country to disburse the first two Shariah-compliant housing finance facilities under Prime Minister’s Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar, Low Cost Housing Finance scheme, a statement said on Monday.

    The facilities were disbursed to Muhammad Anees, who works as a Gardener (Mali) and Muhammad Shahid Khan, a contract employee in a private company. Both the individuals will use the funds to build homes for their families on small plots of land that they own.

    Disbursement Advice for the financing were handed over to Anees and Shahid by Arshad Majeed, Group Head Consumer Finance- Meezan Bank at the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday October 16, 2020 in the presence of Ms. Sima Kamil, Deputy Governor, State Bank of Pakistan, Syed Samar Hasnain, Executive Director, State Bank of Pakistan and Irfan Siddiqui, Founding President & CEO, Meezan Bank.

    Speaking at the occasion, Irfan Siddiqui said: “We are delighted to be the first bank in the country to make a disbursement under the Prime Minister’s Low-cost housing finance scheme and look forward to contributing towards this important sector which directly and indirectly supports over 40 industries and employs a very large percentage of the unskilled labour of the country.”

  • Meezan Bank honored with many titles at CFA Awards

    Meezan Bank honored with many titles at CFA Awards

    KARACHI: Meezan Bank has been awarded with many titles by the CFA Society of Pakistan, a member society of the CFA Institute, USA at its 17th Annual Excellence Awards ceremony held on October 2, 2020.

    A statement issued on Monday said that the bank had been declared as the ‘Best Bank of the Year’ and ‘Best Islamic Bank of the Year’ – 2019.

    The Bank has also been recognized as the ‘Corporate Finance House of the Year – Debt’ in recognition of its investment banking performance, providing ground-breaking tailored solutions and advisory services to blue chip corporate clients.

    Irfan Siddiqui – President and CEO, Meezan Bank and Ariful Islam – Deputy CEO, Meezan Bank received the awards from Dr. Reza Baqir – Governor, State Bank of Pakistan who graced the occasion as the Chief Guest.

    This is the first time that CFA Society of Pakistan has recognized Meezan Bank on an overall industry basis as the ‘Best Bank of the Year’, competing with some of the largest local and conventional players. The Bank has previously been recognized multiple times by the organization for its excellence in providing Islamic financial services to meet the needs of its diverse set of clients.

    As a pioneer of Islamic banking in Pakistan, Meezan Bank leads the Islamic finance industry, reaching a broad customer base with competitive, Shariah-compliant products and services.

    Commenting on the win, Irfan Siddiqui – President & CEO, Meezan Bank said, “We are honored to receive these awards from the CFA Society of Pakistan. This notable recognition reflects our commitment towards Shariah-compliant banking and the continuous effort and commitment that we have invested in over the years to strengthen our offering.

  • Meezan Bank launches electronic e-subscription to IPO

    Meezan Bank launches electronic e-subscription to IPO

    KARACHI: Meezan Bank has successfully launched electronic subscription to IPOs (Initial Public Offerings) for its corporate customers via CDC’s (Central Depository Company) newly launched Master TREC Module in Centralized eIPO System (CES).

    A statement issued on Wednesday said that using Master TREC in CES, Meezan Bank will allow registered Master TREC Holders (Brokerage Houses) to make payments electronically on behalf of their customers through Meezan Internet Banking.

    The newly launched service will also enable Meezan Bank’s corporate customers maintaining an account under CDS Participants (active TREC Holders) to subscribe to IPOs of Shares/Sukuks online on behalf of investors.

    Active TRECHolders, having account in Meezan Bank will now be able to electronically register themselves with CDC through this efficient system, 24 hours a day.

    CDC has introduced this Centralized Master TREC Facilityfor convenient electronic subscription for corporate customers, in accordance with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) active agenda of digitalization.

    This initiative will provide Brokerage Houses and thus ultimately investors with a hassle-free mechanism for application of subscription to securities.

  • Meezan Bank to launch digital payments using Haball platform

    Meezan Bank to launch digital payments using Haball platform

    KARACHI: Haball, Pakistan’s leading B2B payments automation platform, in partnership with Meezan Bank – Pakistan’s first and largest Islamic bank, has recently announced the launch of Blink Direct, a service that will enable digital payments for Pakistani businesses and their supply chain partners.

    The new service will accelerate digital payments to payees while completely removing the friction caused by manual reconciliation errors. Meezan Bank customers will be able to link their bank accounts with the Haball App directly for performing transactions while reaping the benefits of a cashless supply chain, a statement said on Thursday.

    The Blink Direct facility, will allow Haball to address the challenge of delays in invoice reconciliation; an issue that plagues many large and small businesses, and causes payment delays as a result of which the working capital of the business is not managed efficiently.

    The service also maps each payment, invoice, pay order etc. to the context of why a payment was initiated.

    This allows corporate and distributors to reconcile their invoices and payments automatically, reducing errors and time required to reconcile every payment.

    Meezan Bank is the first bank in Pakistan to enable paperless digital payments for businesses using the Haball platform.

    Blink Direct is now available as a standard offering in the Haball App and Platform suite, eliminating manual payments and offering businesses greater transparency for the entire value chain including retailers, distributors and corporate entities.

    Omer Bin Ahsan, CEO – Haball commented on the occasion, “Blink Direct enables money to move digitally throughout the supply chain in the fastest and most reliable manner.

    “Haball has naturally progressed towards aggregating multiple payment options available in the country to give customers the freedom to transact through whichever medium they prefer, whether through their bank’s existing channel, through Haball’s App or through branches and agent networks.”

    Ariful Islam, Deputy CEO – Meezan Bank said: “By extending direct payment services to its customers using Haball, Meezan Bank is delighted to be able to solve the problems currently faced by many companies – needless roadblocks in the payments value chain and provide seamless and integrated digital payment services to enable a cashless supply chain.

    “We are very excited to be part of this innovation and are confident Inshallah that the supply chain vertical will soon benefit from the value of digital payment solutions.”

  • Meezan Bank’s Shariah Board approves guidelines for COVID related refinance schemes

    Meezan Bank’s Shariah Board approves guidelines for COVID related refinance schemes

    KARACHI: Meezan Bank’s Shariah Supervisory Board (SSB) has approved guidelines for COVID-19 related refinance schemes intended to provide relief to businesses and individuals during these challenging times.

    In the 47th meeting of Meezan Bank’s Shariah Supervisory Board (SSB) was recently held as an online event, with the goal of preventing contagion and staying consistent with the recommendations of global and local health authorities and the Government.

    This was the first Shariah Supervisory Board meeting conducted completely online where members from across different countries participated via video conferencing.

    The meeting was chaired by Justice (Retd.) Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani and was attended by Dr. Muhammad Imran Ashraf Usmani, Sheikh Esam Mohamed Ishaq (Bahrain) along with other members of the SSB.

    Meezan Bank’s Founding President and CEO – Irfan Siddiqui, Deputy CEO – Ariful Islam and senior management of the Bank were also present at the meeting.

    In view of the current situation and the outlook for the coming months, the Bank’s SSB has approved guidelines for COVID-19 related re-finance schemes intended to provide relief to businesses and individuals during these challenging times.

    The Board reviewed several key issues including policies adopted by the Bank as well as the corresponding contingency plans ensuring that the Bank continues to serve its customers normally despite the challenges faced due to COVID-19.

    Products and structures for providing relief to customers were also discussed in detail after which the SSB approved a comprehensive set of guidelines to ensure that SMEs get adequate support to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on their activities.

    The SSB also approved Smart Remittance Account that will enable Overseas Pakistanis to apply for bank accounts online either in PKR or USD currency from anywhere outside Pakistan.

    This account will permit Overseas Pakistanis to remit money either in PKR or USD and to invest in Shariah-compliant alternative of “Overseas Pakistanis Saving Scheme” announced by Government of Pakistan (GoP).

    Furthermore, the structure for the re-opening of GoP Ijarah Sukuk was also approved by the Board, making it the first time that a re-opening mechanism will be introduced in any Sukuk issued in Pakistan. The re-opening of Sukuk is expected to bring depth in the Pakistani Sukuk market.

    The SSB appreciated the Bank’s ‘Work from Home’ policy amid the COVID-19 crisis; which has been adopted to protect the wellbeing of its employees, customers and stakeholders and expressed its overall satisfaction on the Shariah compliance environment and operations of the Bank.

  • Meezan Bank plays leading role in issuance of Rs200bn worth Energy Sukuk

    Meezan Bank plays leading role in issuance of Rs200bn worth Energy Sukuk

    KARACHI: Meezan Bank Limited has played a leading role in successfully concluding the issuance of Pakistan Energy Sukuk (PES) II worth approximately Rs200 billion by Power Holding Limited (PHL), a public sector entity fully owned by the Ministry of Energy and Government of Pakistan, a statement said on Tuesday.

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