Barclays sees huge potential in Pakistan banking

[LahoreEstate]

Barclays Bank sees Pakistan as one of the best performers despite global financial crisis which sunk many global banks in the US and European countries. — File Photo Business

KARACHI: Barclays Bank has optimistic plan for Pakistan and believes that the worst is over and demand for liquidity is rising.

‘Pakistani banking industry has huge potential to grow and we will grow with this potential,’ said Vinit Chandra, Chief Executive Global Retail and Commercial Banking Emerging Markets, while talking to Dawn on Thursday.

Barclays, which is the second biggest bank of Britain, entered Pakistan only last year and rapidly established 14 branches in major cities.

Unlike RBS, also a British bank which has recently sold out its local operations to MCB Bank, Barclays said it would continue to work in Pakistan.

‘Packing up Pakistan operation is out of question,’ said Chandra, adding that Barclays has invested heavily and would continue to invest in expansion, hiring more people and introducing new products.

‘We will soon introduce some new products and at later stage we will launch credit cards,’ he said.

Barclays Bank sees Pakistan as one of the best performers in the wake of the global financial crisis which sunk many global banks in the US and European countries.

‘I think Pakistan banking industry is the hero as the industry has surplus liquidity while not a single bank failed here,’ he said. He said banks are cautious over lending because of rising high non-performing loans (NPLs) and slow economic growth. He said global crisis impacted Pakistan also but the impact was much lesser than the disastrous impacts on other countries.

‘Even two per cent economic growth is not the worst performance if we see the growth of economies on other part of the planet,’ he said. ‘This is because Pakistan is a domestically-driven economy which received less negative impact of global crisis and recession.’

He said the worst was over in Pakistan while recovery process had also begun in developed economies.

The banker was of the view that Pakistani economy would recover within two years.

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn...n---szh-05