U Bank has joined hands with the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) for the promotion of financial inclusion in the country.
Kabeer Naqvi, President and CEO, U Microfinance Bank Limited (U Bank), and President and CEO, National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), Arif Usmani signed an MOU of strategic partnership between the two organizations.
This collaboration between the institutions will create synergies between the two institutions. This strategic partnership creates a platform for strengthening the capability of both organizations to provide a comprehensive range of banking services.
It will also promote various forms of cooperation including medium to long-term Debt Finance, Housing Finance (Low-Cost Housing under KPP), Working Capital Funding, Structured Finance, and various other funding options.
Speaking at the occasion, Kabeer Naqvi, President, and CEO of U Bank, said, “Both institutions have developed a strong, mutually beneficial relationship and are willing to extend the cooperation by entering into various innovative transactions.”
He explained, “These transactions include Structured Finance with NBP acting as a Lead arranger and advisor backed by a credit guarantee facility and exchange of Gold Shroff details for better financial worthiness assessment.”
“This alliance will provide an exciting opportunity to bring state-of-the-art financial solutions to our combined customer bases. The synergy will pave the way toward promoting financial inclusion in the country,” Naqvi added.
President and CEO of NBP, Arif Usmani, appreciated U Bank’s efforts toward digitization and financial inclusion of the unbanked economy.
He further emphasized that the inclusion of U Bank in the Karyana Store product, recently launched by the Prime Minister, would not only provide outstanding results but also help in better reach of product due to U Bank’s grass-roots experience.
He expressed the desire to further strengthen the engagement between the two institutions going forward. He also discussed the need of developing an industry with lending controls to minimize non-performing loans and investing in human resources to deliver quality services and financial solutions to the masses.
The ceremony was held at NBP’s Head Office and was witnessed by the senior management of both institutions including Rehmat Ali Hasnie, Group Chief Corporate Investment Banking Group; Ahmer Liaquat, Divisional Head Microfinance & Special Initiative; Muhammad Ahmed Qadar, Wing Head Microfinance Institutions; and Mariam Pervaiz, Chief Commercial Officer & Chief of Staff.
Also present at the occasion were Ambreen Malik, Chief Business Officer & Chief Digital Officer; Farooq Kamran, Chief Corporate & Investment Banking, and Mohsin Raza Aslam, Head Budgeting Planning & Corporate Finance of U Bank.
