First Women Bank

First Women Bank
Company typeUnlisted public company
IndustryBanking
Capital Markets
FoundedDecember 2, 1989; 35 years ago (1989-12-02)
HeadquartersKarachi-75530, Pakistan
Key people
Farrukh Iqbal Khan (CEO)
ProductsLoans, credit cards, debit cards, savings, consumer banking, and bancassurance
Websitefwbl.com.pk

First Women Bank Limited (FWBL) is a Pakistani state-owned commercial bank for women with headquarters in Karachi.[1]

History

The blueprint for infrastructure of the Bank was designed by Akram Khatoon. She presented it in 1988 to the Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who approved to set up the bank in December 1988.[2] It began its business on 2 December 1989 with a paid up capital of PKR 100 Million.[3]

The Government of Pakistan now owns majority shareholding in the bank. The remaining shares are held by the five big commercial banks – National Bank of Pakistan, Habib Bank Limited, Muslim Commercial Bank Limited, United Bank Limited and Allied Bank Limited.[3]

Privatisation

The Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP) approved transaction structures for the privatisation of First Women Bank Ltd.[4][5]

After a hiatus of several years, in February 2024, the Federal Cabinet of the Government of Pakistan finally approved the privatization of the First Women Bank.[6]

References

  1. ^ Qureshi, Zunairah (January 30, 2022). "Is the First Women Bank Limited too pink to fail? We hope so". Profit by Pakistan Today.
  2. ^ Bilquees, Faiz; Rauf, Shahnaz (1991). "The First Women Bank-Why and for Whom? [with Comments]". The Pakistan Development Review. 30 (4): 745–753. JSTOR 4125949498.
  3. ^ a b Ali, Meiryum (2020-03-23). "Can Naushaba Shahzad turn FWBL around before it is too late?". Profit by Pakistan Today. Retrieved 2020-09-11.
  4. ^ Paracha, Shahzad (2020-08-21). "CCoP approves 7pc divestment in OGDC,10pc in PPL shares". Profit by Pakistan Today. Retrieved 2020-09-11.
  5. ^ "Govt to sell stakes in three firms". The Express Tribune. 2020-08-21. Retrieved 2020-09-11.
  6. ^ "Federal Cabinet approves restructuring of PIA, privatization of FWBL". Radio Pakistan. 2024-02-06. Retrieved 2024-03-07.