The Advisory Council of the Asian Banker Summit has awarded S Ali Raza, Chairman and President National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) as the sole recipient of 'The Leadership Achievement Award' for the Financial Services Industry in Pakistan 2006.
Recipients of this prestigious award from 14 countries of Asia include Dr David Morgan, CEO, Westpac Banking Corporation, Australia and Jian Jianging, Chairman and Executive Director, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.
This is the highest award available for individual achievement in the banking industry in the Asia Pacific region today. The award plays an important role in cultivating a culture of excellence amongst leaders and senior management in the banking industry in Asia.
The Asian Banker Journal June-July 2007 issue describing the award says that Syed Ali Raza is recognised for his work in transforming National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) from a state-owned bank to a modern commercial bank within seven years.
The bank has posted Rs 17.22 billion (284.5 million dollar) net profit for fiscal 2006, this sixth year of continuous growth from a slim profit of Rs 1.1 billion (18.2 million dollar) in fiscal 2001. Under his stewardship, NBP has also cut its cost-to-income ratio by almost two thirds to 33 percent from 92 percent in 2000 while ROA surged steadily to 4.3 percent in fiscal 2006 from 0.8 percent in fiscal 2001.
The Journal further says that besides increasing market share in corporate and retail businesses, Raza led the bank to focus on micro finance in 2006. In the last quarter of the year, the bank launched "NBP Karobar" under the "President's Rozgar" scheme for increasing outreach in the unbanked market segment. This is expected to reach two million customers in five years.
In addition, the bank also opened its first Islamic banking branch to tap this lucrative market. The Journal has also observed that looking beyond the country's borders, Raza has led the bank to actively construct a global network in recent years with a focus on South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East, as well as China.-PR
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