HBL's profit doubles to Rs30.9 billion in 2020

Habib Bank Limited (HBL) declared a consolidated profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 30.9 billion for the year ended December 31, 2020. In other words, bank's PAT doubled as compared to the same period of 2019.

The Bank's earnings per share increased to Rs 21.06 compared to Rs 10.45 for the year 2019. Profit before tax recorded a growth of 84 percent over 2019 to Rs 53.0 billion. Along with the results, the Board of Directors of the Bank declared a final cash dividend for the year ended December 31, 2020 at Rs 3.00 per share i.e. 30 percent. This is in addition to the Interim Dividend already paid at Rs 1.25 per share i.e. 12.5 percent.

HBL grew its domestic deposits by a phenomenal Rs 400 billion, with market share increasing to over 14 percent. An increase of over Rs 100 billion in current and more than over Rs 200 billion in savings accounts resulted in strong CA and CASA ratios of 35.0 percent and 86.6 percent respectively; HBL's total deposits increased to Rs 2.8 trillion. Domestic advances crossed a landmark of Rs 1.0 trillion and the consumer lending portfolio, in particular, showed an excellent performance, crossing Rs 75 billion.

Helped by the strong balance sheet growth, HBL's total revenue set a new record, crossing Rs 160 billion. The Bank improved its cost to income ratio from 73.5 percent in 2019 to 58.5 percent in 2020 and the infection ratio improved to an all-time low of 6.3 percent. HBL's CAR, which now stands at 17.2 percent, is well above regulatory requirements.

Commenting on the Bank's performance, Muhammad Aurangzeb, President and CEO, HBL said, "The Bank had a stellar year in which all key indicators remained on an upward trajectory, and the domestic franchise delivered record profits. The international business has also shown signs of a turnaround in the fourth quarter of 2020 with revenues trending upward. Moreover, HBL is actively working on financial inclusion initiatives through significant investments in technology and digitalization efforts. During 2020, HBL remained conscious of its responsibility to support its customers and the broader economy, especially during these testing times."

The Bank's journey towards becoming a "Technology Company with a Banking License," has accelerated as it witnessed an increase in its digital transaction volume. There was a 93 percent increase in HBL Mobile and Internet Banking transactions volume and a 157 percent uptake in Konnect by HBL, the Bank's branchless banking platform. Through 'HBL Pay' all onboarding and payment solutions for businesses were consolidated under a single platform. Collectively, HBL managed a throughput of Rs 7 trillion in 2020, a growth of over 34 percent versus 2019.

Financial inclusion is at the core of

HBL's business philosophy, to work towards reducing poverty and achieve inclusive economic growth. HBL joined forces with Government of Pakistan to enable the delivery of the Ehsaas Emergency Cash Program disbursing approximately Rs 175 billion to an estimated 12 million families over a period of two months. HBL and Ehsaas also partnered on the Kafaalat program which serves more than three million deserving women across the country.

HBL retained its #1 position in Consumer Finance. The Bank came first in Credit Cards, Debit Cards, Merchant Acquiring, Personal Loans and second in Auto Loans. Personal loans at Rs 37 billion, delivered a growth of 12 percent over last year. The primary growth driver for 2020 was auto finance, recording an increase of Rs 9 billion, 53 percent over 2019. HBL is the only bank in Pakistan enabling its customers to avail a credit card and personal loan through its app; Rs 3.2 billion worth of loans were disbursed in 2020 using the Bank's digital channels.

The Bank provided digital onboarding and servicing through the eBanc Roshan Digital Account (RDA), a special investment account created for expatriates. Since its launch, 12,000 Pakistanis from 104 countries have set up RDA accounts and remitted more than USD 44 million in a short span of three months.

The Bank's Islamic Banking arm, over 900 branches/windows nationwide, provided Shariah compliant fixed home finance rentals.