Allied Bank (ABL)() is the fifth largest commercial bank in Pakistan and is a subsidiary of the Ibrahim Group. Allied Bank with its registered office in Lahore is one of the largest banks within the country with over 1400+ branches and ATMs.
It was the first Muslim bank established before Pakistan became independence in 1942 with the name of Australasia Bank. It was renamed to Allied Bank of Pakistan, from Australasia Bank Limited in 1974, and Sarhad Bank Ltd, Lahore Commercial Bank Ltd and Pak Bank Ltd were also merged in it.
History
Foundation and early years
ABL was the first Muslim Bank established on territory that later on became Pakistan. It was established on 3 December 1942, as Australasia Bank at Lahore with capital of 0.12 million by Kashmiri silk trader Khawaja Bashir Baksh.
2005-to-date
In December 2014, the Government of Pakistan sold-off its remaining 11.5 percent stake in ABL for PKR 14.4 billion. The deal was sealed-off at a strike price of Rs. 110 per share for the remaining 131.3 million shares of the government.
In September 2018, ABL opened its Shariah-compliant Aitebar Islamic banking service through its 117 dedicated Islamic banking branches network across 53 major cities of Pakistan. Islamic account holders can also make deposits into and withdrawals from their accounts at Islamic windows in conventional branches.
In 2020 Allied Bank was named in the FinCEN money laundering leak, published by Buzzfeed News and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). It had twelve suspicious transactions flagged in the years 2011 and 2012.
Credit rating
, Long Term Credit Rating of Allied Bank Ltd was maintained at AAA [Triple A] and Short-Term Credit Rating of the bank was maintained at A1+ [A one plus] by the Pakistan Credit Rating Agency (PACRA).
Recognition
Islamic Finance Excellence Award to Allied bank Limited by the Government of Punjab, Pakistan in 2017 The Banker Award for Bank of year 2022-Pakistan Asia Money award 2023 - Pakistan's best bank for diversity and inclusion 2023 Finance Asia 2023- Best Domestic Bank