
Dawood Habib |
Banking - A Family Tradition
The Origin of what is now known as the Habib Group of companies
can be traced to Habib Ismail, father of Dawood Habib, and
his association with the firm of Khoja Mithabani Nathoo,a leading
metals dealer established in Bombay in 1841.
Habib and Sons was formed in the 1920’s to trade in cotton,
copper, oil seeds, gold bullion and other commodities and to
act as a merchant bank. This in turn led to the formation in
1941 of Habib Bank Ltd. Bombay, as a public limited company.
The bank was to become the flagship of the family’s industrial
and commercial ventures. |
Prior to the creation of Pakistan the bank moved
its head office to Karachi and played a vital role in providing
the basic banking
and financial needs of this new country.
A network of branches
and training centers were established in former East and West
Pakistan.
As other indigenous commercial banks were created most of their
senior staff came from Habib Bank.
When all banks in Pakistan were nationalised by January 1974,
Habib Bank was one of the largest commercial banks in South East
Asia with 875 branches in Pakistan and 44 branches overseas,
including 20 in the United Kingdom. |
| Our History |
1984: Habibsons Bank Trust and Finance Ltd. established.
1988: Name changed to Habibsons Bank Ltd.
1989: Representative office established in Karachi, Pakistan
1990: New branch opened in Zurich, Switzerland.
1990: Habib Overseas Bank established in Johannesburg, South
Africa. |
1992: Whitechapel branch opened in London, England.
1992: Bank AL Habib established in Karachi, Pakistan.
1998: Habib African Bank established in Dar Es Salaam,Tanzania.
2003: Green Street Branch established in London, England.
2005: Leicester Branch established in Leicester, England.
2005: Southall Branch established in Middlesex, England. |
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