nCa Report
The banking sector in Afghanistan is thriving despite the restrictions, and keeps the economy in motion.
Some of the banks of Afghanistan are participating in the single-country exhibition, taking place in Ashgabat, 4-6 March 2024:
- AIB (Afghanistan International Bank)
- Azizi Bank
- Afghan United Bank
- Ghazanfar Bank
Khanullah Yousafzai, the Chief Operating Officer, and Anwar Raza, the Chief Marketing Officer of the Azizi Bank told nCa that their bank maintains presence across the 32 provinces of Afghanistan. It is the largest commercial bank in the country.
Founded by Mirwais Azizi, 18 years ago, the bank plays a decisive role in the stabilization and development of the banking industry of Afghanistan, thereby contributing to the strengthening of the national economy, they said.
They told that the bank has a network of 56 branches including extension counters and has more than 88 ATMs spread across the country. The bank also owns the first full-fledged Islamic Bank in the country – The Islamic Bank of Afghanistan which also has 46 branches and 33 ATMs across the country.
Yousufzai and Raza informed that the Azizi Bank has been able to reach out to the millions of needy Afghans to provide humanitarian assistance while implementing projects sponsored by various UN agencies, International and local NGOs.
Till now we have issued more than 750,000 pre-paid cards to humanitarian beneficiaries and are paying them regularly through ATMs, POS devices as well Branchless Banking teams station across all Branches. Apart from that, Bank pays more than 250,000 government and non-Government payroll payments per month.
The total book size of the bank is about USD 455 million.
The bank has relationships with international bodies like UN, EU, various Embassies, International NGOs, Multinational companies and large corporates, Importers/Exporters and retailers. Azizi bank is the first choice of all sectors of the economy in Afghanistan. Azizi Bank thus focusses on both mass banking (for general masses) and class banking (for niche segments), says the website of the Bank (https://azizibank.af)
Of the 1326 employees of the bank, 12% are females.
nCa also had conversation with Ahmad Jawid Wahidi, the Vice-President and Head of Corporate and Institutional Banking of the AIB (Afghanistan International Bank).
He spoke briefly about the activities of the bank.
It is the only Afghan bank with international transfer to all the countries. The bank has 37 branches, with headquarters in Kabul.
The shareholders include two Afghan business groups and one Afghan/American business group. It was founded in 2004.
AIB operates primarily as a commercial wholesale bank and focuses, among others, on multilateral organizations, UN entities, NGOs, embassies, foreign military forces, Afghan governmental institutions, foreign and domestic companies.
Afghanistan International Bank holds $790 million in deposits.
AIB website – www.aib.af
Ghazanfar Bank is a growing bank. It has about 93000 customers, 15 branches and 426 employees. The bank was founded 14 years ago and covers 20 provinces of Afghanistan.
At the SME Finance Forum in September 2023, the Ghazanfar Bank was accorded the Honorable Mention in the Best Financier for Women Entrepreneurs category of the Global SME Finance Awards 2023.
The SME Finance Forum is organized by IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and endorsed by the G20’s Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI).
Ghazanfar Bank website – https://www.ghazanfarbank.com
The Afghan United Bank (AUB) was incorporated in October 2007. It has 27 branches in Kabul, Nangarhar, Kandahar, Balkh, Herat, Kunduz, Parwan, Helmand, Nimroz, Khost and other major cities of Afghanistan.
The bank offers financial products and services in both Conventional and Islamic Banking across these branches.
All the branches of AUB are connected on real-time basis, allowing the clients to deposit or withdraw funds from any branch.
Website of AUB – https://afghanunitedbank.com
There are 12 banks operating in Afghanistan consisting of 3 state banks, 7 private banks and 2 branches of foreign banks. Non-bank institutions include FX dealers, financial service providers, e-money institutions and financial service, and FX exchange companies.
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The Pajhwok news of Afghanistan reported on 11 February 2024 that the Afghan banking sector had come out of crisis and was moving towards development.
In the story with the byline of Noorullah Zazai, the Pajhwok says:
A meeting was held among officials of Da Afghanistan Bank, acting finance minister, financial stability committee of the Supreme Economic Council and the shareholders, said a statement from the office of the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs.
Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB) acting chairman Hidayatullah Badri said the meeting was organized to assess existing problems in the banking sector of Afghanistan and to find solutions to them.
He added that by implementing reasonable monetary policies, the central bank had been able to maintain stability in the sector and the value of the afghani, as well as control inflation and prices.
According to him, currently the banking sector of Afghanistan has come out of the crisis situation and is moving towards development.
He added that in the past two years, Da Bank of Afghanistan has been able to take effective steps in the field of Islamic banking.
He said the entire financial sector would be gradually brought at par with Islamic and Sharia principles.
Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar said in the meeting that the banking sector has a special role in the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan.
He added, besides many developments in the banking sector, a number of problems, including the problem of liquidity in one or two banks, had been resolved.
According to him, the Islamic Emirate has taken concrete steps to solve the economic problems of the people and has full commitment and a long-term plan in this regard.
Acting Minister of Finance Mullah Mohammad Nasser Akhund assured cooperation to all shareholders of the banks in the meeting and added that he will do his best to solve problems. /// nCa, 5 March 2024
Here are some pictures of the banking sector booths at the Afghanistan exhibition in Ashgabat:
