Habib Bank Limited

Banking
KSE: HBL
India
HBL

"Kabul has revoked the license of the Iran-linked Arian Bank due to “grave violations,” a spokesman for Afghanistan’s Central Bank told Arab News on Monday. The move was not linked to US sanctions on Iran, Aimal Ashoor added. The Central Bank convened a meeting recently to review the activities of foreign banks, he said.  The cancelation of Arian Bank’s operating license follows that of Pakistan-based Habib Bank, he added. “Arian Bank is actually an Afghan bank but it has Iranian shareholders. The cancellation of the license is because of grave violations of the laws and guidelines of the Central Bank,” Ashoor said. “Like Habib Bank, Arian Bank hadn’t offered loans to traders and had zero role in the economic development of Afghanistan.”" (Arab News, 5/21/2019).

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"Iran and Pakistan’s biggest lenders are interested in opening branches in each other’s country, which was announced in a meeting between the governor of the Central Bank of Iran and the Pakistani ambassador to Iran. He added that the multinational HBL, the largest bank in Pakistan –formerly referred to as Habib Bank Limited– and the Karachi-based United Bank Limited have had representative offices in Iran for years." (August 2017)

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"Bank Melli Iran and Pakistan's Habib Bank are the first to open branches...Past times Pakistani banks used to have branches in Iran and Habib Bank and United Bank have never closed their representative offices in Iran in worst of the times.'I am sure Habib Bank and United Bank will be one of the first Pakistani banks to start branches in Iran after lifting of sanctions,' he added." (Fars News, "Habib Bank: Iranian, Pakistani Banks Queue up to Open Branches," 3/27/2016).
 

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According to the Law in Iran Group, Habib Bank has a representative office in Iran.  (Law in Iran Group Website, “Branches and Representative Offices in the Laws of Iran,” 9/24/2015).

  • Conducts business with U.S. that service designated Iranian banks 
  • Provides services to UN3 Iranian banks 
  • Provides ACUs to Iran 
  • Holds Iranian accounts Operating in Iran 
  • Service 'deficient' Iranian banks with U.S. banks  (Avi Jorisch, "Iran's Dirty Banking", 2010)