Ayaz Muhammad Khan, Charge d'affaires, Pakistani Embassy in Riyadh, was also present at the ceremony. Al-Jasser said it was not the first time the NBP has opened a branch in Riyadh. “I can recall that the NBP opened its first branch in the Kingdom in 1950, which later changed to Bank Al-Jazira,” he said. Al-Jasser said he admired the contributions of the Pakistani community during the initial days of the Saudi Arabian central bank, saying Pakistani finance experts helped SAMA draft bylaws and created an administrative system that the bank still follows. Al-Jasser paid special tribute to Pakistani national Anwar Ali, who had helped SAMA streamline its functioning from 1956 to 1978. “I want to share with the audience that Ali died while representing Saudi Arabia at a forum meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank,” he said. He said Isbahuddin, another Pakistani national, helped SAMA establish a legal framework; while Muhammad Umar Shabaan helped the Islamic Development Bank. Al-Jasser hoped that the NBP flourishes and serves both the Pakistani community in Saudi Arabia and the Saudi economy With the opening of the NBP branch, Al-Jasser expects a boost in bilateral trade and commerce between the two countries. Khan said the NBP branch in Riyadh will help improve bilateral trade relations and stressed that the bank encourages the strong Pakistani community to remit their savings which their country's economy needs. Zubair Ahmed, NBP CEO for Saudi Arabia and Regional Chief Executive for Middle East and Africa, said the newly opened branch will offer all the banking services which include safety deposit lockers and loans. He said since its inception the NBP has granted loans to the tune of SR150 million, “and looking forward to offer best banking services in future”. Ahmed further said that NBP will offer full banking services including remittances without any charges. “The percentage of remittances to Pakistan has gone up remarkably,” he said without providing any figures. He added that the bank's main target customers are middle income Pakistanis and Saudi businessmen. NBP is the largest bank of Pakistan with a total capital of $1.496 billion (SR5.610 billion) and total asset base of $12 billion (SR45 billion). Last year, the bank registered net profit of $209 million (SR783.750 million). NBP, with a total domestic branch network of 1,289 and 23 international and overseas branches and representative offices in four countries and a staff of 16,457, is among the few internationally compliant Pakistani banks in terms of its capital of Rs15 billion. Ahmad thanked King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Al-Jasser, for helping the bank tap the 1.5 million Pakistani workers in the Kingdom, to aid their country's economy. NBP's other salient features include deposits at an attractive rate of return, depending on the term and amount; individual, business and corporate current and savings accounts; term deposit schemes starting from a maximum of seven days up to three years; full range of financing facilities under SAMA guidelines including business loans and cash lines at negotiable rates; and corporate treasury deals. Other banking products include export and import services. He said the NBP offers remittances under the brand name “Instant Cash – Instant Transfer” at special exchange rates.
