Karachi: Bank AL Habib Limited has maintained its long-term AAA rating, reflecting its strategic efforts to strengthen its position within the competitive banking sector.

According to The Pakistan Credit Rating Agency Limited, the bank has focused on bolstering its market standing, with notable growth in deposits and an increase in investments.

As reported, the bank's deposit base saw a 15% increase, reaching PKR 2,222 billion by September 2024, up from PKR 1,934 billion in the previous year. This growth was primarily driven by a 17% rise in customer deposits, enhancing the bank's CASA ratio to approximately 75%. On the investment front, the bank's portfolio expanded to PKR 1.81 trillion, contributing to a decline in the advance-to-deposit ratio to around 37%.

Despite these positive metrics, the bank's gross advances decreased to PKR 814 billion from PKR 896 billion, and non-performing loans increased by 38%, totaling approximately PKR 35 billion. This led to an infection ratio increase to 4.29%. Nevertheless, the bank reported a profit after tax of PKR 33 billion for the first nine months of the current year, with Net Interest Margin Revenue rising to PKR 116.5 billion. The bank's Capital Adequacy Ratio also improved to 19.63%, driven by robust profitability.

The stability of Bank AL Habib's rating is contingent upon the maintenance of its risk profile, which remains satisfactory with a solid equity base and capital adequacy ratio.