More deep-rooted structural reforms can make better financial sector.

Byline: Khalil Ahmed

PAGE: Tell me something about yourself and your bank, please:

Mohammad Raza: I currently serve Meezan Bank as the Group Head of Customer Support. As far as my educational background is concerned, I graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering from DCET- NED University of Engineering and Technology and hold a Master's degree in Business Administration from Institute of Business Management (CBM). I am a DAIBP and have also completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Islamic Banking and Finance from the Centre of Islamic Economics.

I joined Meezan Bank in February, 2003 as Branch Manager, Gulshan-e-Iqbal Branch. Having an excellent exposure of branch banking coupled with deposit mobilization and customer services, I was given the task of managing liability products and service quality in 2005. With the management's decision of combining Strategy Support, Innovation and Transformation and Service Quality units, I have been assigned with the responsibility of heading the Customer Support Group at Meezan Bank.

Meezan Bank was launched in 1997 as an Investment Bank with an initial capital of Rs. 1 billion. Our main objective was to introduce the concept of Riba-free banking as an alternative to conventional banking. The Bank was envisaged and established without first developing a financial feasibility, since the purpose behind the establishment of Meezan Bank was to establish and promote Islamic Banking in Pakistan; however, Alhamdulillah, ever since our inception, the Bank has been profitable since the very first month of its operations. For the first five years of our operations as an Investment Bank, we functioned with a workforce of only 30 people.

In 2002, Al-Meezan Investment Bank stepped into the domain of Islamic commercial banking through the acquisition of Pakistan operations of Societe Generale and was issued first Islamic commercial banking license. Converting Societe Generale's four-branch conventional banking operations into a Shariah-compliant bank at that time was also an achievement for us. We operated as Pakistan's only Islamic commercial bank for the next two years. Al-Meezan was thus renamed as Meezan Bank.

Meezan Bank was established as Pakistan's first Islamic bank offering products and services in line with the principles of Shariah. As we developed over the years, we brought new and innovative Riba-free products and solutions in an industry that was solely based on interest. Meezan Bank, however, took up the...