As part of the bank’s goal to consolidate its overseas operations and increase its focus on local and lucrative businesses across the country, Habib Bank Limited (HBL) is closing its branch in Lebanon.
The bank has started the process of winding down its Lebanon business in a controlled manner. According to its quarterly financial report 2022, formalities for the wind-completion down’s are in the works.
HBL’s activities in Lebanon began in the capital, Beirut, in 1964. The bank offered a variety of banking services to its customers from diverse categories.
Several overseas branches and subsidiaries of the bank have closed in the last three years, including branches in Paris, New York, Seychelles, Kenya, and Afghanistan, as well as subsidiaries in the Netherlands, Hong Kong, and Mauritius.
The bank’s management previously stated its position on the closure of its branches and subsidiaries in order to rightsize operations and improve system efficiency, notably in the bank’s foreign activities, which includes its strategy of focusing on the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
In recent years, several significant banks have shut down their operations in foreign markets due to repeated losses or unproductive operations, diminishing Pakistan’s banking industry’s presence in the international banking area.
