Meezan Bank Pakistan’s leading Islamic bank and the Best Bank in Pakistan, has recently joined hands with Central Depository Company (CDC) – the sole securities (shares) depository in the country – to launch Shares Custody Services for its customers. Mr. Ariful Islam, Deputy CEO, Meezan Bank and Mr. Badiuddin Akber, Chief Executive Officer, CDC signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at Meezan Bank’s Head Office, Karachi. Also present at the occasion were Mr. Zia Ul Hasan – Group Head Operations, Meezan Bank, Mr. Shariq Naseem – Head of Product Development & Marketing, CDC and Mr. Ayub Baig, Manager Capital Market – Meezan Bank along with their respective teams.
The arrangement will allow Meezan Bank customers the facility to buy and sell shares and keep these shares in the safe custody of a CDC Sub-account managed by Meezan Bank.
Meezan Bank’s Shares Custody Services will also allow customers to subscribe for the new issue of shares (i.e. IPO’s). The launch of Shares Custody Services aims to enhance outreach of CDC’s facilities in all parts of the country through the extensive network of 660 branches of Meezan in more than 180 cities across Pakistan.
Commenting on this occasion, the Deputy CEO of Meezan Bank, Mr. Ariful Islam said: “Meezan Bank is focused on providing innovative value-added services to its customers leveraging on state-of-the-art technology. At present, CDC investor account opening services are not available in small cities and remote areas. Meezan Bank’s Shares Custody Services will address this need by allowing its customers to maintain a formal CDC Investor Account for safe custody of shares and securities with the Bank.”
Also commenting on this occasion, CEO CDC, Mr. Badiuddin Akber added, “One of CDC’s strategic objectives is to continually increase its outreach to remote areas through collaboration with leading institutions. This is in line with the international best practice of providing depository services through banks. Our collaboration will provide millions of Pakistanis access to Pakistan’s Capital Market through the wide branch network of Meezan Bank. This is indeed a great step towards CDC’s aim to help increase the investor base of the stock market.”
About Meezan Bank
Meezan Bank is the 7th largest bank in Pakistan and the leading Islamic bank of the country. The Bank provides a comprehensive range of Islamic banking products and services through a retail banking network of more than 600 branches supported by a countrywide network of 600 ATMs, VISA & MasterCard Debit cards, a 24/7 Call Center, Internet Banking and Mobile Banking facility.
Meezan Bank has consistently been recognized as the ‘Best Islamic Bank in Pakistan’ by numerous local and international institutions. The Bank has also been recognized as the ‘Best Bank in Pakistan’ by Pakistan Banking Awards– the most prestigious awards in Pakistan’s Banking sector, which is a testimony of the Bank’s commitment to excellence. Other awarding institutions include Islamic Finance News – Malaysia, Global Finance magazine – New York, Asset AAA – Hong Kong, Asiamoney – Hong Kong, The Banker – United Kingdom, South Asian Federation of Accountants, Islamic Finance Forum of South Asian Awards, Pakistan Banking Awards – Dawn & IBP Pakistan, Employers Federation of Pakistan and CFA Association – Pakistan.
The JCR-VIS Credit Rating Company Limited, an affiliate of Japan Credit Rating Agency, Japan has reaffirmed the Bank’s long-term entity rating of AA+ (Double A Plus) and short-term rating at A1+ (A One Plus) with stable outlook. The rating indicates sound performance indicators of the Bank.