June 26th, 2009
JCR-VIS Credit Rating Co Ltd. (JCR-VIS) has maintained entity ratings of Meezan Bank Limited (MBL) at ‘A+/A-1’ (Single A Plus /A-One).
The medium long-term outlook has been upgraded from ‘Stable’ to ‘Positive’ in view of favorable trends witnessed in the bank’s performance. As pioneers of Islamic Banking, MBL has capitalized on the first-mover advantage and built a strong franchise amongst the masses, evident in the highest market share in terms of deposits in the Islamic Banking Sector. The expansion in branch network to 166 branches has been instrumental in facilitating the growth in retail deposits.
Low-cost deposit mix enhanced core earnings in FY08. Non-performing advances of the bank are very low and the quality of consumer lending has so far fared better than most market players.
Continuing to focus on key elements of risk and drawing on experience, MBL’s management expects to achieve growth in line with projected targets.