Pakistan’s banking sector remains progressive and profitable despite the critical challenges to its economy. Inflationary pressure and external sector payments risks are the key causes of building macroeconomic imbalances in the country.
Here is an overview of Pakistan’s top bankers and their salaries.
1. Shahzad Dada — United Bank Limited
The CEO and President of United Bank Limited (UBL), Shahzad Dada, is the highest-paid banker in the country. He drew an overall income of Rs. 340 million in 2021, including a salary of Rs. 232 million and a special reward of Rs. 108 million.
He took charge of the bank last year, replacing Sima Kamal, who is now the Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan. Under his brief leadership, UBL’s profit surged by a staggering Rs. 10 billion to reach Rs. 30.6 billion in 2021. It also improved its ranking from fifth place to third in terms of profit with a very close competition with MCB Bank which recorded a profit of Rs. 30.8 billion in the same year.
Dada has spent a longer period in foreign banks, including Barclays Bank and Deutsche Bank, and came into the limelight as one of the top bankers within a few years. He joined Standard Chartered Bank in 2014 and led it toward phenomenal growth in terms of profitability and operational growth during his stay until the mid of 2020.
2. Irfan Siddiqui — Meezan Bank
The CEO and President of Meezan Bank, Irfan Siddiqui, is the highest-paid Islamic banker in Pakistan who reportedly drew an annual salary of Rs. 306 million last year as compared to Rs. 275 million salary package in 2020 and also received an annual raise of Rs. 31 million from the bank.
His endeavors translated well into the sustainable growth of leading Islamic banks but his contribution to the growth of the Islamic banking industry in the country is remarkable. Starting from scratch, Meezan Bank acquired various financial institutions, including Société Générale, HSBC Pakistan, and HSBC Oman. It also achieved various benchmarks, including its assets value and deposit mobilization.
3. Muhammad Aurangzeb — Habib Bank Limited
Muhammad Aurangzeb is the CEO and President of Pakistan’s biggest bank — Habib Bank Limited. In the last few years, he used to be the most expensive banker in the banking industry but ranked number 3 in terms of a salary package of Rs. 265 million that he had drawn from the bank in 2021 against an income of Rs. 222 million in 2020.
Aurangzeb’s aggressive focus on digital, SMEs, and agriculture financing should be followed by different banks as well. In 2021, his bank retained its position as the most profitable bank in the country, with its balance sheet reporting the highest-ever profit in the industry — Rs. 35.5 billion with an annual growth of 15 percent.
Of course, his rich experience in the global banking and the financial sector is making a difference in the local banking industry but customers angrily ask him if this is the quality of service one should expect from the country’s leading bank.
4. Imran Maqbool — MCB Bank
Imran Maqbool, the retiring CEO and President of MCB Bank is on the list of the top five highest-paid bankers in Pakistan. He drew an annual income of Rs. 235 million in 2021, which is Rs. 108 million or 85 percent higher than the salary he received from the bank in 2020, which was Rs. 127 million. The astronomical rise in income was apparently a good gesture from the bank in recognition of his dedicated services.
In the last year of his service, the bank made an all-time high profit of Rs. 30.8 billion, with a modest year-on-year growth of 6.2 percent. During his tenure, MCB Bank had become the most profitable bank for two straight years — 2018 and 2019. In the subsequent years, it had been among the top three most profitable banks in the country.
Maqbool had served Meezan Bank and its associated companies since 2002 in different capacities. He remained its top banker for nearly a decade and spearheaded successful initiatives for banks, including the merger with the NIB Bank, the launch of the Sri Lankan operations, supervision of the Asset Management Groups, and the establishment of MCB Islamic Bank as a subsidiary.
5. Rehan Shaikh — Standard Chartered Bank
Rehan Shaikh, the CEO and President of Standard Chartered Bank (SCB), made an annual income of Rs. 194 million in 2021, with a staggering increase of Rs. 51 million from last year. Maintaining a modest annual profit growth of 4.4 percent, SCB achieved a profit of Rs. 13.7 billion in 2021 as compared to its profit of Rs. 13.13 billion in 2020.
Contrary to the growth in his salary, SCB did not sustain its position in terms of profit growth. Shaikh joined the bank a year and a half ago and the bank’s position dropped from sixth in 2019 to ninth in 2021. SCB left many of the competing banks in the dust under its then-CEO, Shahzad Dada.
6. Atif Bajwa — Bank Alfalah
The President and CEO of Bank Alfalah, Atif Aslam Bajwa, is an old guard of the bank who has been reappointed as its top banker after a term of 3 years.
Bajwa’s annual salary package is incredible. He drew an annual income of Rs. 187 million in 2021, along with perks and benefits, and drove the bank towards profitability and innovation again.
In 2021, Bank Alfalah posted a profit after tax of Rs. 14.217 billion in 2021 as compared to Rs. 10.475 billion that it reported last year, which was a significant improvement of 35.8 percent YoY. The bank regained its position among the top 10 profitable banks in the country, with its ranking increasing to eighth in 2021 from eleventh in 2020.
