Dedication
This piece of work is dedicated to my beloved parent and teachers
who always helped me out in times of woe and distress
and taught me to follow the path of truth, justice, honesty
and to all those who love and care about me
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
A milestone of this nature could never have been possible to
achieve without the support of a galaxy of some truly loving
persons.
The
events
and
the
process
leading
to
the
accomplishment of my objective have given me a realization in
depth of immense blessing of Allah.
Many people have contributed in the successful completion of this
internship report. My great appreciation goes to the whole team of
Askari Bank Ltd DHA II Lahore. They provided me with every kind
of help in the completion of this report. Let me also thank my
teachers of Comsats Institute of Information Technology (CIIT)
for the knowledge they gave me and their guidance in every field. I
would also like to thank Professor Samar Kamal Fazli for his
guidance. Last but not the least I would like to thank my parents
who provided me love, support, patience & good knowledge.
Executive Summary
This
internship report consists of profile of the banking sector
(industry), its origin, the functioning, how the banks are classified
on the based on function, ownership etc and the trends being
followed in the industry. Besides the above mentioned this report is
focused on Askari Bank and to be more precise it discusses the
inner details of the bank situated in Lahore DHA II Branch. Askari
Bank origin and its setup in Pakistan are also discussed in the
report.
Askari Bank came to Pakistan and gave banking sector a new
horizon, today Askari Bank has set firm foot in the industry.
The report further guides through the department and working of
the general banking. The activities taking place in the bank, the
various products of banking are discussed in the report. The report
is a very good description of what Askari Bank and its significance
is.
Introduction
The name bank is derived from a Latin word bancho meaning
desk/bench, used during the renaissance by the Florentines
bankers, who used to make transactions above a desk covered
with a green table cloth.
The first modern bank was founded in Italy in Genoa in 1406; its
name was Banco di San Giorgio (Bank of St. George).
The word bank can be traced down to the ancient Roman Empire,
when money lenders would set up their stalls in the middle of an
enclosed courtyard called macella on a long beach called bancu
A banker or bank is a financial institution that acts as a payment
agent for customers, and borrows and lends money. Banks act as
payment agents by conducting checking or current accounts for
customers, paying cheques drawn by customers on the bank, and
collecting cheques deposited to customers' current accounts.
Banks borrow money by accepting funds deposited on current
account, accepting term deposits and by issuing debt securities
such as banknotes and bonds. Banks lend money by making
advances to customers on current account, by making installment
loans, and by investing in marketable debt securities and other
forms of lending.
Banking Companies Ordinance of 1962 defines banking as
“banking means accepting, for the purpose of lending or
investment, of deposits of money from public; repayable on
demand or otherwise, and withdraw able by cheques, drafts, to
order or otherwise”.
Industrial profile
Banking is one of the most sensitive businesses all over the world
and play important role in the economy of a country and Pakistan is
no exemption and in a contemporary world of money and economy.
The banking system of any economy is an undeniable determinant
of its growth as it provides an efficient channel that routes funds
from surplus sectors in the economy towards deficit ones. Banks
are custodian to the assets of the general masses.
It influences and facilitates many different but integrated economic
activities like resources mobilization, poverty elimination, production
and distribution of public finance. It is purchase of car or building of
a home bank is always there to serve public better. Banks play
positive and vital role in the overall economic development of the
country.
Pakistan has a well-developed banking system, which consists of a
wide variety of institutions ranging from a central bank to
commercial banks and to specialized agencies to cater for special
requirements of specific sectors. The country started without any
worthwhile banking network in 1947 but witnessed phenomenal
growth in the first two decades.
A major achievement of the reforms process has been the
transformation of a primarily state owned and weak banking sector
into a healthier, market based system, owned by the private sector.
This has been facilitated by the restructuring of major banks,
ongoing consolidation of
acquisitions,
strengthening
the sector through mergers and
of
the
regulatory
regime
and
improvements in transparency, corporate governance and credit
culture.
Classification of Banks
The commercial banks are classified into various types on the basis
of their spheres of activities, ownership, domicile etc. The main
types of banks are: 
Classification on the basis of functions

Classification on the basis of ownership
Classification on the basis of functions

Central Bank

Commercial Banks

Exchange Banks

Saving Banks

Agricultural Banks

Industrial Banks
Classification on the basis of ownership

Public sector banks

Private sector banks

Cooperative banks
Classification on the basis of domicile

Domestic Banks

Foreign Banks
Banks in Pakistan
Government Owned Banks:

First Women Bank Limited

Industrial Development Bank of Pakistan

Khushhali Bank Limited

National Bank of Pakistan

SME Bank Limited

The Bank of Khyber

The Bank of Punjab

The Punjab Provincial Co-operative Bank Limited

Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited
Privatized Banks:

Allied Bank Limited

Habib Bank Limited

MCB Bank Limited

United Bank Limited
Development Financial Institutions:

House Building Finance Corporation

National Investment Trust Limited

Pak Kuwait Investment Company (Pvt.) Limited

Pak Libya Holding Company (Pvt.) Limited

Pak Oman Investment Company Limited

Saudi Pak Industrial & Agricultural Investment Company (Pvt.) Limited
Small and Medium Enterprise (PBA subgroup under
formation):

First Microfinance Bank Limited

Pak Oman Microfinance Bank Limited
Private Banks:

Royal bank of Scotland (RBS)

Arif Habib Bank Limited

Askari Bank Limited

Atlas Bank Limited

Bank Alfalah Limited

Bank Al Habib Limited

BankIslami Pakistan Limited

Crescent Commercial Bank Limited

Dawood Islamic Bank Limited

Dubai Islamic Bank Pakistan Limited

Emirates Global Islamic Bank Limited

Faysal Bank Limited

Habib Metropolitan Bank Limited (Merged with Habib Bank AG Zurich
in October 2006)

JS Bank Limited

NIB Bank Limited

Meezan Bank Limited

Mybank Limited

KASB Bank Limited

SILK Bank

Soneri Bank Limited

Standard Chartered Bank (Pakistan) Limited (Re-constituted in
December 2006)
Foreign Banks:

Citibank N.A., Pakistan

Deutsche Bank AG, Pakistan

Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, Pakistan

Oman International Bank S.O.A.G., Pakistan

Barclays
Non-Member Banks & Development Financial Institutions:

Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Limited, Pakistan

Network Micro Finance Bank Limited

Pak Brunei investment Company Limited

Pak Iran Joint Investment Company

Rozgar Micro Finance Bank

Tameer Micro Finance Bank Limited
Till the end of 1980s Pakistan banking sector was heavily regulated
in most of the areas of activities. The regulated and nationalized
banking system created an industry structure where competition
was unknown to management of the banks, Forced by the
structural reforms agenda and the desire to strengthen its financial
system. Pakistan moved towards liberalization and financial sector
deregulation in 1990. It started with the privatization of state owned
commercial banks and induction of new ones from private sector
established a market base banking system. The government seems
to be conscious about improving the efficiency of banking sector in
Pakistan. Few considerable efforts have been made in this regard
which include enhanced capital adequacy, strengthening asset
quality,
improving
management
and
increasing
earnings.
Furthermore interest rates deregulation, abolition of credit controls
and further developments in capital market have also led towards a
more competitive banking environment.
The deregulated and increasingly competitive environment poses a
challenge in terms of efficiency as the most efficient banks would
survive while the less efficient will be driven out of the market. This
phenomenon of deregulation started from when banks privatized to
increase efficiency and effectiveness. The government of Pakistan
permitted small private sectors banks to operate, which indulged in
doubtful policies to promote business. The public sector banking
which constituted the backbone, thus continued to suffer because
of their approach, size and carried over liabilities.
In the mean while western banks started entering into the business.
They with the support of ruling elite, concentrated on the big
business, leaving the routine business to local banks. This reduced
the profitability of the local banks. Banking industry has grown and
still growing as numbers of banks are increasing and other new
entrants are coming to Pakistan.
Pakistan Banks’ Association
Pakistan Banks’ Association (PBA) represents the Pakistan
Banking Industry. Established in 1953, its main objective is to
coordinate the efforts of the banking industry, and to share a
common vision of progress and development with its members.
PBA Membership is institutionalized and is available only to the
Banks operating in Pakistan. Currently there are 47 members,
categorized into 6 groups (one of these groups is under formation).
Its governing body is an Executive Committee (EC) comprising of
14 members, represented by the Chief Executives of the respective
member institutions. Over the years the role of PBA has broadened
considerably. It is now referred to by the State Bank of Pakistan in
formulation of regulations for the banking industry, and has been
entrusted with the function of regulating and monitoring certain
services provided to the banking industry by outside service
providers. These service providers include ‘Professional Value’s’,
who are evaluators allowed to appraise the values of assets
collateralized to banks, and Security Agencies offering security
services to the Banking Industry.
Trends of the Banking Industry
Pakistani Banking Industry these days has indulged itself in the
following activities to fulfill the needs of the society.

Consumer Financing
1. House financing
2. Auto financing

Micro credit financing

Islamic Banking
Consumer financing:
Most of the commercial banks have ventured into consumer
financing. Consumer financing as the name indicates is simply
financing for their consumers that may include financing for
household products. Consumer financing also involves two major
categories of products being financed today i.e. House financing &
Auto financing.

House financing is a part of consumer financing as it is also financing
of a product which is of a vital use to the consumers. It is basically
providing funds to the consumers especially for the purpose of buying
or leasing a house. In some banks it is also known as house loans.

Auto financing is another important concept undertaken by banking
these days and is without a doubt, the most profitable department as
well for a bank these days. Auto financing is also as the name
indicates financing for Automobiles
In the above mentioned trends there is a very visible benefit for the
customer that is easy purchasing of homes and automobiles. Banks
pay the amount required for the respective item of purchase and
them the customer pays back the bank in installment or as per
his/her feasibility, the earning of the bank in this procedure is what
it get in return of doing the favor to the customers, the bank
charges a certain amount of interest on the amount it gives to the
customer for purchasing of the house or the car and that is where
they make profits.
Micro Credit financing:
Micro financing focuses on the people with personal commitment to
improve their lot, do honest labor and have a genuine need for
small loans.
Large loans imply few beneficiaries and similarly if big loans default
their losses can be equally hazardous. Converse is true for Micro
Credit Loans.
Due to the tough economic conditions and failure of giant industrial
enterprise all over the world, people have started shifting from big
loans to small loans and similarly from Industrial financing to
consumer financing.
Islamic Banking:
Islamic banking is a phenomenon which is continuously gaining
popularity in the country, a-lot of effort is being put in to make
Islamic banking penetrate through the conventional banking. The
SBP has initiated the process the process of converting
conventional banks into Islamic banks while the government has
initiated a parallel banking strategy of promoting Islamic banking
alongside the conventional banking. Islamic banking is not much
different from the conventional banking in terms of the processes
being carried out but it deals with all in a more Islamic way for e.g.
they don’t charge interest in Islamic banking, they only take profits
which is in fixed amounts of money not interest rate over the loan
disbursed.
Profile of the company (ACBL)
Askari Bank Limited (the Bank) was incorporated in Pakistan on
October 9, 1991 as a public limited company and is listed on the
Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad Stock Exchanges. The registered
office of the Bank is situated at AWT Plaza, the Mall Rawalpindi.
The Bank obtained its business commencement certificate on
February 26, 1992 and started operations from April 1, 1992. Army
Welfare Trust directly and indirectly holds a significant portion of the
Bank's share capital at the period end. The Bank
has 227 branches (December 31, 2009: 226 branches); 226 in
Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, including 31 Islamic
banking branches, 22 sub-branches and a Wholesale Bank Branch
in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The Bank is a scheduled commercial
bank and is principally engaged in the business of banking as
defined in the Banking Companies Ordinance, 1962.
Mission
To be the leading private sector bank in Pakistan with an
international presence, delivering quality service through innovative
technology and effective human resource management in a modern
and progressive organizational culture of meritocracy, maintaining
high ethical and professional standards, while providing enhanced
value to all our stake-holders, and contributing to society.
Branches
Board of directors
Lt. Gen. Nadeem Taj
Chairman
Lt. Gen (R) Imtiaz Hussain
Chairman Executive Committee
Maj Gen (R) Saeed Ahmed Khan Director
Mr. Zafar Alam Khan Sumbal
Director
Dr. Bashir Ahmad Khan
Director
Mr. Shahid Mahmud
Director
Mr. Muhammad Riyazul Haque
Director
Mr. Ali Noormahomed Rattansey Director
Mr. Muhammad Rafiquddin Mehkari
President& Chief
Executive
Mr. M. A. Ghazali Marghoob
Company Secretary
Bank’s departmental functions

Finance department

Marketing department

Customer services department

IT department

Operations department

Finance Department
Finance is the major driving force behind an organization, whatever
the business is, it may miss out any other department which will
have an effect but if it misses out finance the business can simply
not run. The basic thought before doing any business is to earn
profits, and it is not possible with the finance personal. If the firm
doesn’t knows it expenses it won’t know its surplus incomes as
well. Good finance is the key to a successful business.
The role of the support functions in the business management is as
of any front line business function as they primarily deal in
managing the internal dynamics of the organization to assist in
accomplishment of business objective, implementation of strategies
and to enforce a sound control environment of harmonizing
profitability with governance goals.
It is one of the support departments of all the division of the bank.
This department is responsible for the following functions.

Preparation of financial budget for the annual operation of the bank.

Recording of transactions pertaining to the annually operations of the
bank.

Calculating and comparing the variances in the actual results with the
budgeted amounts

Reconciliation of various accounting records with the records for the
external entities.

Settlement of dues of the acquirer banks and other parties.
Scope of Activities of the department:
The finance department of the bank is responsible for the
budgeting, accounting and reporting of all the operations of the
bank.
Reporting line:
The finance department of the bank directly reports to the Group
head consumer finance and all the reports sent to the head office
and other authorities are under approval and authority of the group
head Consumer finance.
The finance department is of keen interest to the operations
department. It further includes different departments, each having a
very vital role to play.

Payables

Reconciliation

IP (Item processing)

Settlement
B.T.F
Balance transfer facility. Askari Bank offers a balance transfer
facility to all its members -an easy and convenient way to transfer
and pay the existing balances of their accounts, issued by other
banks in Pakistan, through their Banks account.

Marketing Department
The marketing department handles the activities regarding the
promotional activities that are held time to time and making
agreements with different retailers for getting factory prices of their
products in order to make their products more attractive to the
customers by cutting down prices on buying from their credit cards,
like special discount on purchase from credit card.

Customer Services
Customer service is a very self explanatory term. Customer
services involve services like; after sale service and satisfying
customer needs in case they are facing any problems in the
service.
They also handle the applications declined by verification
department, by reviewing them and sending letters to re apply for
clients if they are legible.
 Operations Department
Survival and success of any organization requires its operations to
be tightly monitored and performed well. Askari Bank believes in
handling its operations in an efficient way. A department has been
specially designed to carry the operations held. The operations
department has a hawk’s eye over all the departments working for
the bank but certain departments are made a part of the operations
department because of their well known importance. The
departments under the Operations department are;

Embossing Department

Mailing Department

Recovery Department

Collection Department

Authorization

Designing Department

Human Resource & Greeting Department

IT department.
 Embossing Department;
They receive data of clients; their work function is to print the
account numbers, it is very easy to say but this department has its
own significance.
 Mailing Department;
Mailing department has a very vital role in the structure their basic
tasks are listed below

Receive Mails; mail receiving is one of the jobs of this department this
is pretty tedious task, receiving mails for the entire bank, the mail
include; billing receipts, new applications, billing applications etc

Bills Mailing; The payment of and for the bank also follow the path
which pass the mailing department
Besides the above mentioned tasks though they are pretty tedious
them self, the mailing department is also responsible for the
inventory caretaking for the bank.
 Collection Department;
These are the people who are always being “CURSED” by the
customers because to pay an amount from your very own pocket is
not an easy thing. Plastic money is just like honey when we use it.
It gives us a yummy taste because we are not using our own
money, but when we receive our bills we feel like having chilly taste
with lots of black pepper of this yummy honey. So people in
collection department try to give customers black pepper in a very
pleasant way. They make calls, calls & calls (bundle of calls) to late
payment holders up till 3 months of bill issuance. They make
people afraid to collect due payment.
 Authorization;
This department monitors all transactions being made on the
accounts through the system. This department also looks for any
fraudulent activities.
 HR & Greeting Department;
Human resource department has a check on the entire system and
make sure that the employees are performing their best. Some
activities performed by HR department are:

Hiring new employees.

Contract Renewals.

Performance Appraisals

Increment in salaries

Bonuses Decisions

Leaves
Greeting employees are there to greet walk in customers and guide
them.
 IT Department
IT is one of the most important sectors these days, no organization
is complete without the aid from IT department similar is the case
with Askari Bank, IT department has the most important role that is
joining the departments with each other, every department is linked
with the other department by means of networking of Computer and
an intercom with about 300 telephone set is laid in the center. The
IT department has a lot more to contribute in the center for instance
everything nowadays is done on computers and there are different
software’s for different business activities, the IT department keeps
everything ready for every department. This department though
does not have a visible role but can without a doubt be referred to
as the back bone of the company.
GENERAL BANKING
ACCOUNT OPENING PROCEDURE:
Opening of bank account is the primary step to a relationship
between the bank and the customer. As the opening of a bank
account by a person makes him a customer of the bank, the
account opening process must not be considered just a formality.
Knowing the customer should be the objective of the banker and
customer due diligence must be done prior to establishment of the
relationship. The basic documents to be obtained at the time of
opening of account are:

Account opening form (Annexure ‘I’)

National identity card or Passport

Specimen signature card (Annexure ‘II’)

Additional documents depending on the constitution of the account
Know your customer (KYC):
While
opening
accounts
of
customers,
all
reasonable efforts must make to determine the true identity of the
customer and the sources & utilizations of funds. To have a uniform
procedure for customer due diligence, a Know Your Customer
(KYC) Form (Annexure ‘III’) has been introduced which is to be
completed by the account opening officer/ operations manager/
branch manager. During the course of meetings with the customer
to complete the account opening formalities, they should be asked
about the type of the transactions for which the bank account would
be used and any information gathered must be recorded on the
KYC Form. Any further information felt necessary and obtained
during conversation with the customer should be recorded on the
KYC Form and placed on record.
Informal session with the customer:
An informal session with the customer should be
arranged to assess and ascertain his/her credibility. While having a
face to face interactive session with the customer, following points
must be borne in mind, so that at the time of filling the KYC form,
comments column would contain all the required and necessary
information.
For a salaried person:

Name of employer

Designation of the customer

Approximate salary

Area of residence

Residence status whether owned, rented etc.

Expected inflow/ transfer of funds in the account

Overall background

Source of funds

Accounts with other banks

Any other information
For self-employed:

Name of the concern

Constitution of the concern

Field of operation

Nature of transactions

Expected inflow/ transfer of funds in the account

Source of funds

Legitimacy of the business

Accounts with details of facilities with other banks

Area of residence

Residence status whether owned, rented etc.

Overall background

Any other information
For an organization:

Check all necessary documentation as mentioned in the manual has
been obtained and all necessary formalities of account opening have
been completed.

Obtain brief profile of the partners, directors etc. to ascertain their
credibility.

Take adequate measures to obtain all relevant information i.e.
independent verification of the partners, directors etc. and the
organization.

Obtain a report from the customer’s other/ previous bankers

Clearly understand the pattern of transactions to be conducted by the
organization.

Make possible efforts to gather information relating to the customer’s
source of wealth to ensure that business is transacted only with
customers of repute involved in legitimate business activities.

Account opening officer/ manager operations/ branch manager should
personally meet the key individuals of the organization and conduct
their due diligence.
Account Opening Form:
A senior officer should be designated by the branch manager
to handle the account opening function. Prior to opening of the
account, the account opening form and all the related documents
must be scrutinized and approved by the branch manager
personally. It must be ensured that all columns of the account
opening form are correctly & properly filled and the customer has
read & understood Rules & Regulations for conduct of accounts
that are printed on the reverse of the account opening form. No
column of the form should be left blank and columns not applicable
to a particular customer should be marked so to guard against
unauthorized additions. Following guidelines must be followed in
this regard:

Title of account must be in block letters and it should corroborate the
name on the National Identity Card/Passport.

The type of account i.e. Current, PLS or Term must be clearly
mentioned.

The status of the account holder i.e. Resident or Non-Resident must
be specifically marked.

The currency in which the account is to be opened must be specified.

Full name of the customer along with the father’s/ husband’s name,
NIC number/ Passport number, place of birth, NTN, occupation &
occupational details including occupational address (the occupation
must be clearly and specifically defined, vague terms such as
business, trading, service etc. are insufficient, the extract nature of the
occupation or the place of employment must be ascertained and
recorded) personal communication details & details of Next of Kin, as
applicable must be recorded.

Instructions for deductions of Zakat must also be noted on the AOF.

Any other instructions such as holding of mail etc. must also be
mentioned on the AOF.

Terms of operation of the account whether singly, jointly, by either or
survivor or jointly by any of the authorized signatories of the account
must also be noted.
Introduction of an account
To ascertain the credibility of the customer, the account must be
introduced by another account holder.
Preference should be given to introduction by an existing account
holder of the branch. Emphasis is being made for introduction by an
existing account holder because the existing account holder’s
integrity has already been assessed by the branch at the time of
opening of the account of the introducer. Such introduction must be
accepted.
In case where an existing account holder of the bank is introducing
the account, the account opening form must be sent to the
concerned branch where the introducer is maintaining his account
for verification of the introduction and the account of the customer
should be opened only upon receipt of the verified Account
Opening Form. Alternatively, the signatures of the introducer can
also be verified through On-line Banking System.
Where the introducer is not an account holder of our bank, the
introduction should only be accepted and account opened after
having the signature of the introducer verified from the bank where
the account is being maintained. The signature of the verifying
authority must be authenticated from the Authorized Signatures
Book of the bank.
Introduction from employees may also be accepted but should be
discouraged. In cases where a staff member introduces the
account, it should only be accepted when the employee personally
knows the customer’s background/ activities.
Where the customer is bringing in substantial deposits and a
customer maintaining a nominal balance introduces the account,
discreet market investigation must be done for such a customer.
Only verification of signatures of the introducer is not sufficient to
establish a new account relationship and the account must only be
opened if the branch is satisfied with the antecedents of the
customer.
Regulation:
State Bank of Pakistan Regulation M-1 of Prudential Regulations
for Corporate/ Commercial Banking relates to Account Opening and
thus it has been made an integral part of the this Manual as
Annexure ‘IV’.
Status of customer
RESIDENT:
A resident would mean any person residing in Pakistan
and holding a Pakistani Nationality or an expatriate having a valid
permit for residing in Pakistan or an employee of a consulate of a
Foreign Country or firms which are incorporated abroad but operate
in Pakistan or a Judicial Entity licensed to operate in Pakistan.
NON-RESIDENT:
Individual firms and companies resident in countries
outside Pakistan are designated as Non-Resident. All Pakistani
Nationals and persons domiciled in Pakistan except persons
holding office in the service of Pakistan who go out of Pakistan for
any purpose viz., employment, study, business, pleasure etc. are
treated as Non-Resident for so long as they remain outside
Pakistan and all such accounts are regarded as accounts of
countries in which the account holder is residing. Non-Resident
accounts can be categorized as follows:

Pakistani nationals permanently residing and domiciled abroad

Pakistani nationals who are abroad for short visits

Foreign nationals residing abroad

Foreign nationals ordinarily residing in Pakistan but gone abroad for
short visits.
Where an account of a resident is held jointly with a Non-Resident,
it shall be treated as a Non-Resident Account.
TYPES OF ACCOUNTS
1) Current Account
It is an account in which profit is paid on the balances.
Any individual, firm, charitable institution, corporation, association
etc, and residents as well as non-residents can open and operate a
current account.
2) Profit and Loss Sharing Account
It is an account in which profit is paid on the
balances. Depending on the nature of the account the profit is
calculated and credited to the account monthly, quarterly or biannually. Temporary Running Finance Facility is not extended to
PLS Accounts.

Profit Calculation and Payment
Depending on the nature of the
account i.e. whether the profit is to be calculated on minimum
monthly balance, average monthly balance or on daily product
basis, the same must be defined in the system. The indicative rates
of profit are to be fed into the system which would then
automatically accrue the profit and credit the account on monthly,
quarterly or half-yearly basis as the case may be.

Deduction of withholding tax on profit
The
system
automatically
calculates the amount to be deducted as withholding tax currently
10% for residents and 30% for non-residents on profit paid and
credits the respective tax payable head for onward payment to the
tax authorities. The withholding tax so deducted must be deposited
in the Govt treasury within seven days of deduction. Withholding
tax on profit shall not be deducted if the customer submits a valid
tax exemption certificate issued by the Income tax Commissioner.

Deduction of Zakat
Zakat would be deducted @ 2.5% on the credit
balance over and above the declared NISAB for the year. PLS
account holders would be required to furnish a Zakat Exemption
Certificate on the prescribed format to be exempted from this
compulsory deduction. The exemption certificate must be executed
and submitted to the branch, one month prior to the month of
Ramadan. Signatures of the customers must be verified on the
Zakat Exemption Form. A check has to be applied in the system in
case of Zakat Exemption failing which the system would
automatically debit the same from the account on the 1 st day of
Ramadan each year. The NISAB and procedure for deposit of
Zakat is circulated each year before the 1st day of Ramadan by the
systems and operations department, Head Office.
3) Profit and Loss Sharing Term Deposit Receipt
PLS TDR is a time deposit for a fixed tenure in the
shape of a deposit receipt payable on demand. The rate of return
applicable on PLS TDR is based on the indicative rates of profit
declared by the systems and operations department, Head Office.
Full account opening formalities including KYC procedure should
be followed for issuance of PLS TDR. The customer however
should be encouraged to open an account. As the PLS TDR is in
the shape of a deposit receipt, no cheque book is issued. In case of
deposit through cash, voucher would be prepared by the concerned
officer and handed over to the customer for deposit of cash with the
teller.

Silent features:

It is not negotiable

It is not transferable

Rates applicable on the original Term Deposit would be
applied on the whole completed period in case of late
encashment

The encashment could be made either in cash over the
counter or credited to an account in case an account is
maintained with the branch issuing the PLS TDR

Withholding tax at 10% for residents and 30% for nonresidents would be deducted from the profit amount

In case where the instructions are for roll over on
maturity, same would be rolled over and converted into a
new PLS TDR

Preparation of a PLS TDR:
Each branch is supplied with a stock of pre-
numbered printed blocks of PLS TDR. The same being security
stationery must be kept under lock and key in dual custody and the
running block, which is in use and in possession of the concerned
officer, must be kept in the safe at the end of the day. The PLS
TDR is in two parts, the Counterfoil that is retained by the bank as a
permanent record and the Receipt, which is given to the customer.
While issuing the PLS TDR following is recorded:
 Amount of deposits in words and figures
 Tenure
 Name of depositor
 Maturity due
 The amount in figures is imprinted by a cheque writer
 Signed by two authorized signatories as per signing
instruction
The PLS TDR is delivered to the depositor upon acknowledgement
which is his signature on the reverse of the counterfoil which would
be verified from the signature on the Account Opening Form.

Due Date Diary:
A Due Date Diary shall be maintained for maturity of TDR’s.
FOREIGN CURRENCY ACCOUNTS
Foreign Currency Accounts can be opened in US Dollars, Pound
sterling, Japanese Yen and Euro for both resident and nonresident. The account opening procedure would be discussed and
the following types:
i. Current
ii. Saving
iii. Fixed Deposit
Additional requirements and exceptions are outlined hereunder:

No Zakat is deducted

Interest on Saving account and Fixed Deposit are circulated by the
International Division

Prior approval of International Division would be sought for deposits of
3 months and above

Deposit in cash should be avoided if the retention period is less than 2
weeks

All deposits and withdrawals in all types of foreign currency accounts
along with balances in each foreign currency are to be communicated
to the Treasury Division on a daily basis as per the cut off time.

Deposits in cash would be subject to cash handling charges as per
Schedule of Charges in force.
Safe Custody & Deposit Facility
Safe Custody Facility

Bankers accept valuables from customers as they have adequate
security arrangements.

Banker-Customer Relationship is based on the contract of bailment.
Banker
Bailee
Customer
Bailor
Bailment:
It is the delivery of goods by one person for some purpose
upon a contract that the goods shall when the purpose is
accomplished shall be returned or otherwise disposed of according
to the directions of the persons delivering them.
Obligations of the banker:

Banker should take proper care

Bailee has to return the goods subject to the demand from the bailor

Banker should not use the articles

Banker has to deliver the goods to the customer according to his
instructions
Receipt of securities:
Sealed Boxes:
 Bank accept sealed boxes of convenient sizes
 While accepting a box banker should see that the box is seal
with the customer’s seal
 Words “CONTENTS UNKNOWN” should be prominently written
on such boxes
Sealed packets containing wills:
 Banker also accepts from customers for safe custody wills or
sealed packets said to contain a will
 With the instructions to deliver the packet after his death to a
named person
 Before delivering the packet banker should satisfy himself that
the person is named as an executor in the will
Safe Custody Receipt:
In case of shares, securities or articles
 Name & address of customer
 Mode of operation
 Full particulars of shares/securities
Delivery of securities

Full
Delivery:
Customer
has
to
surrender
receipt
duly
discharged/signed by him

Part Delivery: Customer has to submit a delivery order along with
receipt

The bank will strike out the delivered articles from the receipt
Safe Custody Facility

Banker Customer Relationship
Banker
Lessor
Customer
Lessee

Lockers cabinets are installed in separate rooms

Each locker has only one key to be used by the customer

The number of the key and the locker to which it relates are not the
same

2nd key is known as master key it is applied by the banker while
opening the locker along with the key of the customer
Operations of locker

Locker operations are controlled by contract, which contains the rules
and conditions which govern the vault operations

So contract is the basic document that set out the relationship between
banker and a customer
Guidelines to minimize improper access

In case of joint locker, never deviate from its terms

Never allow access even to an authorized agent on notice of death,
mental incapacity or in solvency of the licensee or one of the several
joint licensees until legal requirements have been properly fulfilled

Never allow excess if served with an attachment order or other
restraining orders without first consulting the legal department

Customer’s keys should never be in the possession of the custodian of
the vault
Licensing of lockers

Lockers can only be rented out to the legally capable persons

Can be allotted singly or jointly

Filling up and signing of application form and SS card

Admission of signatures

Pasting of application forms

Allot locker from the “locker chart” and mark locker number so allotted
in pencil on the chart

Demonstrate operation of the locker to the licensee

Keys of the un-rented lockers and those surrendered by the licensees
must be kept in the safe under dual control of the officers
Rent Key Deposits

Initial recovery of rent & key deposit must be recorded on application
form

Recovery of charges are to be balanced on monthly basis and record
of each licensee of lockers is to be maintained in locker issue register

Record of key deposits and their subsequent refunds is to be made in
the locker issue register

As rent of locker is received in advance the custodian of locker must
check the record and diaries them for necessary compliance

In case rent is not deposited within 7 days from the date it becomes
due the licensee be requested to deposit the rent, subsequent
reminders be sent on monthly basis and if after 4 reminders the rent is
not received a notice be sent through Registered A/D giving therein 30
days to deposit the rent and in case of failure the locker will be broken
open
VOUCHERS
Dr: Cash / Party’s Account
Cr: Income Account Rent-Locker
Cr: Sundry Deposits-Key Deposits
Forced Opening of Locker

In the extreme event of forced opening due to termination of lease
agreement for non payment of rent locker may be opened subject to:

Prior approval of Head Office

In the presence of
i.
Notary Public
ii. Custodian of Locker
iii. Branch Manager
iv. Resident Authority

After the force opening of locker:

Remove contents

Prepare inventory of the removed articles in quadruplicate
i.
Original copy of Notary Public
ii. Duplicate is to be sent to the licensee through registered A/D
post
iii. 3rd copy is to be kept along with the articles of the locker in the
packet
iv. 4th copy is retained as office copy by the custodian of the
lockers

The packet containing the removed articles and inventory is sealed in
the presence of all the persons, mentioned earlier.

The packet is retained under lien against unpaid rent of the locker and
other expenses incurred on the forced opening.

If the contents remained unclaimed for 6 months, rent and other dues
have also not been paid, then the licensee be given a 30 days notice,
after Head Office approval, stating that articles in whole or part will be
sold to appropriate the proceeds towards the recovery of dues

Surplus amount, if any, shall be remitted to the ex-licensee
Breaking open lockers

In case the locker is required to be broken open by the licensee due to
loss of key following steps to be taken:
1) Letter of request from the licensee on the prescribed format
2) Verification of signatures
3) Approval of manager
4) Arrangements for breaking open and replacement of lock to be
made
5) Licensee is asked to remain present in the bank at that time
6) Locker should be broken open in presence of

Licensee

Custodian of locker vault

Manager operations
7) After breaking open the licensee should remove his articles
from the
locker
8) A certificate as per specimen is obtained from the licensee,
which contains that:

Locker was broken open on his request

In his presence

He has received the contents

He has checked the contents and found in order
REMITTANCES
“Transfer of funds from one place to another”.
Products:

Demand draft
(intercity)

Mail transfer
(inter/intra city)

Telegraphic transfer

Pay order

Rupee traveller’s cheques

Online transfer of funds
(intercity)
(intercity)
(inter/intra city)
(inter/intra city)
Know Your Customer

The officer in charge of remittances department should check the
following registers on daily basis


Inward Remittances Register

Outward Remittances Register

Travellers Cheques Register
Clear & complete particulars of the beneficiary of outward remittances
should be obtained & recorded in the Remittances Application Form

Genuineness of funds being remitted should be investigated keeping in
mind following factors:

Debit in the account is not an aggregate of smaller credits

Deposit of cash in account immediately prior/along with request of
remittances

Several accounts are not being debited to build up the aggregate
amount of remittances where nature of business does not justify

The
account
is
not
being
used
only
for
the
purpose
of
effecting/receiving remittances/transfer of funds to other accounts
without any business personal banking related transactions

While handling remittances it should be ensured that the amount is in
line with the business size/profession of beneficiary

All electronic/telegraphic transfers should bear the name/address of
remitter

Branches should ensure purpose & genuineness of large purchase of
multiple monitory instruments of significant amount by the customer

Due notice must be taken of unusual instructions such that remitted
funds are expected back through some different source/country

Large remittances to/from countries generally associated with the
production/distribution & making of narcotics, illegal weapons & other
unlawful trades should be monitored

Genuineness of funds being remitted should be investigated keeping in
mind following factors:

Debit in the account is not an aggregate of smaller credits

Deposit of cash in account immediately prior/along with request of
remittances
DEMAND DRAFT

Written Order

To pay Money

Drawn by one office of a bank upon another office of same bank
Uses:
One of the most reliable modes of transfer of funds
Used for intercity remittances of funds
Eligibility Criteria:
Should not be a:

Minor

Illiterate Persons

Insane Persons
Can be issued to:

Individuals

Joint Names

Business Concerns
Can be issued against:

To the debit of customer’s account
 Against cheque
 Debit authority
Issuance of DD

Filling up of application form

Recovery of charges

Deposit of cash/cheque

Entry in system for preparation of DD, IBCA, printing of DD issue
register

Delivery of DD
Payment of DD

On receipt of IBCA

Scrutiny of IBCA

Verification of signatures of officers of issuing branch

Entry in the system

Vouchering

Payment through suspense account

Special care must be exercised

Entry in system

Intimation to drawee branch

Payment through suspense account should be authorized by the
Manager Operations

Cancellation of DD by authorized officers
Issuance of Duplicate DD

Written Request

Verification of Signature

Marking in the System

Intimation to Drawee Branch

On receipt of reply from Drawee branch

Intimation to purchaser

Letter of indemnity

Duplicate DD, which must contain on its face following wording:
“Duplicate DD issued in lieu of original No-……….. Dated
………. Reported lost”

Noting in DD system

Intimation to drawee branch
Cancellation of DD for refund

Written request by purchaser

Verification of signature

Genuineness of DD is established

Scrutiny of DD specially on the grounds that it has not been negotiated
or duplicate of the same has been issued

DD is cancelled by tearing the signed portion of DD and marking the
same as “Cancelled”


Mark cancellation of DD and date of cancellation

On original application form

DD system
Refund of Amount
If purchaser is not account holder than the amount of
DD is credited in his account otherwise refund is made through Pay
Slip.

The original DD is defaced & stapled with the Debit Voucher of
Suspense account

On receipt of IBCA from the drawee branch entry of suspense account
is reversed
Issuing Branch
Drawee
Branch

Receipt of application

Cancellation of DD
Dr: suspense a/c DD cancelled
Cr: party’s a/c. cash
o Scrutiny of
Intimation
System
o Vouchering
Dr: Bills
payable a/c DD payable

Intimation to drawee branch
Branch
Cr: Mo a/c of Issuing

On receipt of IBCA
Dr: MO a/c of drawee branch
Cr: suspense a/c DD cancelled
Crossing
Section 123 of N.I.Act 1881:
Where a cheque bears across its face an addition of the words and
company or any other abbreviation between two parallel transverse
lines simply, either with or without words not negotiable the addition
shall be deemed to be a crossing and cheque shall be deemed to
be crossed generally.
Cheque Crossed Account Payee
Sec 123 A:
Where a cheque crossed generally bears across it’s an addition of
the words “account payee” between two parallel transverse lines
constituting the general crossing, the cheque besides being
crossed generally is said to be crossed.
Special crossing
Sec 124:
Where a cheque bears across its face an addition of the name of
the banker either with or without words not negotiable that addition
shall be deemed a special crossing and the cheque shall be
deemed to be crossed specially and be crossed to the banker.
Development of crossing
A bank clearing clerk named Irvin originated the idea which finally
led to the establishment of the London Clearing House at Lombard
Street in 1775.
Protection available to the Collection Banker
Sec 131 of N.I.Act 1881:
Condition essential for obtaining protection:

Cheque must be crossed

Payment must be received by the banker on behalf of the customer

Collecting banker must act in good faith
Role of SBP

Being central bank, SBP is responsible for smooth operation of
clearing system. SBP acts as bankers’ bank.

NBP performs this function on behalf of SBP where office of SBP does
not exist.
Clearing Membership

All scheduled banks are full fledged members of clearing house.

Non-scheduled banks can be sub members through a scheduled bank.

Application in writing with a nominal fee is needed for membership.

The membership ceases when a bank ceases to be a scheduled bank.
Outward clearing at branches

Receipts of Instrument



Instrument must be accepted on the Bank’s pay-in-slip
Deposit slip should contain

Instrument number

Name of drawee bank and branch

Signature of depositor
Immediately on receipt on instrument

Affix bank crossing & clearing stamp on the face of the
instrument

Proper discharge on the reverse of instrument

Depositor account number on the reverse for ease of any
subsequent reference

Computerized bank wise schedule is prepared in duplicate one copy of
which is retained in the branch while other copy is sent to the main
branch along with instruments

Consolidation bank wise summary is also prepared in duplicate one
copy of this is sent to the main branch along with outward clearing
Guidelines for giving discharge on instrument

If instrument is Bearer/open, draw in favour of a limited company

If instrument is bearer but crossed “Account Payee Only”

If instrument is bearer but crossed generally (& Co/Not negotiable)
drawn in favour of a limited company.

If instrument is order (whether crossed or not deposited in payee’s
account)

If instrument is order & crossed generally & being deposited in
endorsee’s account

If instrument is bearer & crossed either generally or crossed not
negotiable, drawn in favour of a limited company

If instrument is mutilated but being credited to a well known customers
account as payee

If instrument is collected as agent for another bank

In case DD being deposited in a well known customer’s Account as
payee

In case of cheque being collected in special clearing for payee
Collection
Article 2 of URC 522

For the purpose of these Articles

“Collection” means the handling by banks of documents as
defined in sub Article 2(b), in accordance with instruments
received, in order to
i.
Obtain payment or acceptance OR
ii. Deliver documents against payment &/or against acceptance
iii. Deliver documents on other terms & conditions

Documents
means
financial
documents
and/or
means
commercial documents
i.
Financial document means bill of exchange, promissory notes,
cheques or other similar instruments used for obtaining the
payment of money
ii. Commercial documents means invoices, transport documents,
documents of title or other similar documents or any other
document what so ever, not being financial document

Clean collection means collection of financial documents not
accompanied by commercial documents

i.
Documentary collection means collection of:
Financial documents accompanied by commercial documents
ii. Commercial documents not accompanied by financial documents
BUSINESS OPERATIONS
Organizational chart
Marketing strategy
Most companies use the term marketing mix to describe the
combination of elements that they use to achieve goals for selling
and promoting their products and services. When the company
decides which elements it will use, it calls that particular marketing
mix its marketing strategy.
The major marketing management decisions can be classified in
one of the following four categories:

Product
=> physical item/service provided by bank

Price
=> commission received

Place (distribution)=> placement of product/service

Promotion
=> means of spreading the words about the
product/service
These variables are known as the marketing mix or the 4 P's of
marketing. They are the variables that marketing managers can
control in order to best satisfy customers in the target market.
1) Product
“The end result of the manufacturing process, to be offered to
the marketplace to satisfy a need or want.”

Askari Mahana Bachat Account (1 + 3 Years Term)
“Earn Rs. 925/- per month on investment of every Rs. 100,000/- for one
year!"
“Earn Rs. 1,000/- per month on investment of every Rs. 100,000/- for
three years!”
Askari Mahana Bachat Account is a Term Deposit facility available
to individual customer with the option of 1 and 3 Years tenure. It
has been designed keeping in view savings needs of individual
investors who don’t want to block their funds for longer terms, with
a competitive rate of return paid monthly on the 1st of every month.
A financing facility up to 90% will be available for customers if
required.
Features:
Product type
Term deposit
Eligibility
Individual only
Balance requirement
Mini Rs.50, 000/- max Rs.10, 000,000
In multiples of Rs.25, 000/-
Tenure
1+3 years
Profit payment
Profit rates
Competitive
Servicing
Available at all Askari bank branches
Financing limits

Monthly - 1st of every month
Upto 90% of the principal amount
Askari Roshan Mustaqbil Deposit
Askari Bank has launched the Askari Roshan Mustaqbil Deposit, a
saving plan specially designed for individual investors who wish to
invest for a regular return at a later stage while keeping their
principal amount intact. With Askari Roshan Mustaqbil Deposit you
can double your investment in a time period of ten years. Invest in
the form of monthly deposits for five years and get paid back the
same amount for the next five years while receiving principal
amount in full at the end of the tenure.
Features:
P
r
o
Term Deposit
d
u
c
t
T
y
p
e
:
E
l
i
g
i
b
i
Individuals Only
l
i
t
y
:
B
M
I
a
in
n
l
i
a
m
m
n
u
u
c
m
l
e
t
R
i
r
s.
p
e
5
l
q
,
e
u
0
s
i
0
r
0
o
e
/-
f
m
M
e
a
R
n
xi
s
t
m
.
s
u
:
m
5
,
u
0
p
0
t
0
o
/
R
-
s.
5
0
,
0
0
0
/T
e
10 Years (5 + 5)
n
u
r
e
:
P
r
o
f
i
t
p
a
y
Monthly – on
completion of
first 5 years
m
e
n
t
:
P
r
o
f
i
t
R
Competitive
a
t
e
s
:
S
e
r
v
i
Available at all
c
Askari Bank
i
branches
n
g
:
F
i
n
a
n
c
i
n
g
L
i
m
Upto 90% of the
principle amount
after completion
of first 5 years
i
t
s
:

Askari Deposit Multiplier Account
“Value of initial investment of Rs. 100,000/- will increase to Rs.
265,000/- at maturity!”
Aim higher with your investments with Askari Deposit Multiplier
account. This account is for individual investors whose purpose is
long term savings with high returns. With a tenure of 10 Years and
a competitive rate of return on maturity this account is ideal for
investors who wish to start saving for their future today.
Features:
P
r
o
d
u
c
t
T
y
p
e
:
Term Deposit
E
l
i
g
i
b
Individuals
i
Only
l
i
t
y
:
B
a
l
a
n
c
e
Minimum Rs.
50,000/-
r
Maximum upto
e
Rs.
q
10,000,000/-
u
i
r
e
m
e
n
t
s
:
T
e
n
u
r
10 Years
e
:
P
r
o
f
i
t
p
a
y
m
e
n
t
:
On maturity
P
r
o
f
i
t
R
Competitive
a
t
e
s
:
S
e
r
v
i
Available at all
c
Askari Bank
i
branches
n
g
:
F
i
Upto 90% of
n
the principle
a
amount
n
c
i
n
g
L
i
m
i
t
s
:

Askari value plus deposits
“The Best You Deserve”
Askari Bank leads the way, yet again with the introduction of Askari
Value plus Rupee Deposit Accounts, which promise greater
financial freedom and security, in an un-matched way.
Types of Value plus Account
1. Value Plus Current Account
2. Value Plus Saving Account
3. Value Plus Time Deposits
Why Askari Value Plus Account?
1. Free issuance of Debit Card
2. Free global accidental insurance coverage against debit card
irrespective of balance in the account or age of the cardholder
3. Free ATM Cash Withdrawal insurance
4. Free online funds transfer facility
5. Free internet banking services
6. Free of cost 24 hours global accidental insurance coverage up to Rs. 2
million
7. Facility of Supplementary Debit Cards
8. Monthly returns on saving deposits
9. Partial encashment facility for time deposits
10. Automatic roll over facility for time deposits
11. Our un-matched service quality

ASKCARD
Askari Bank is committed to provide innovative and competitive
solutions to banking needs in a more efficient and personalized
manner. Bank enjoys a strategic competitive advantage over all
domestic players by virtue of its leadership, large network and
technological advancement. In line with tradition of innovation,
Askari Bank takes pride in announcing launch of Askari Bank's
Debit Card.
Askari Debit Card means freedom, comfort, convenience and
security, so that one can have retail transactions with complete
peace of mind. Askari Debit Card is new shopping companion
which enhances quality of life by letting you do shopping, dine at
restaurants, pay utility bills, transfer funds, withdraw and deposit
cash through ATM anywhere, anytime.
"Convenience at its best"
Why ASKCARD?

Free of Cost (24) hours Global Accidental Life Insurance upto Rs.
500,000/- for every cardholder irrespective of balance in the account

Free ATM Cash Withdrawal Insurance upto daily cash withdrawal limit
of the cardholder against snatching, armed hold-up or forced
deprivation of money

Free issuance of Debit Card for new Value Plus Accountholders

Umrah Tickets for 2 lucky cardholders
(Each year)

Home insurance of 10 lucky cardholders
(Each year)

No hidden charges

Free from carrying cash or cheque books

Free Funds Transfer Facility

Free Utility Bills Payments through ATM’s

Shopping Facility at POS terminals

Maximum daily cash withdrawal limit

Balance Inquiry, Mini Statement

Supplementary Cards

Un-matched Online Real-time Services

Askari rupee traveller cheques
Askari Bank Limited has always remained at forefront in introducing
innovative and unique products in banking sector. Financial
instruments provide greater financial freedom and security in an
unmatched way to our valued customers.
Askari Bank offers you its "Rupee Traveler Cheques" eliminating all
financial risks while traveling. So avoid risk of carrying cash through
Askari Bank's Rupee Traveler Cheques.
"You’re Best Travelling Companion"
Why Askari Bank's Rupee Traveler Cheques?
1. Free issuance
2. Free encashment
3. Profit will be offered at the time of encashment*
4. Nationwide acceptability
5. Facility of encashment in cash to the purchaser
6. Facility of encashment through clearing
7. No purchasing limit
8. Valid until encashed
9. Easily transferable
10. Account relationship not mandatory
11. Fastest refund procedure in case of loss / theft
12. Safe & secure mode of funds transfer
13. Available in Rs. 10,000 Denomination at all branches of Askari Bank
14. Perfect substitute of your cash

Smart Cash
Product Featuring:
Resid
ent
Borro
Pakist
wer:
ani
Nation
als
Perso
Facilit
nal
y:
Line
of
Credit.
Maxim
um
upto
Rs.
500,0
00/Finan
(Clean
cing
)
Limits
Maxim
:
um
upto
Rs. 1
Million
(Secur
ed)
One
year
Tenor
(rene
:
wable)
.
Month
ly debt
Repa
servici
yment
ng on
:
the
outsta
nding
balanc
e.
Marku
p
Comp
Rates
etitive.
:
Availa
ble at
Servic
ing:
all
Askari
Bank
Branc
hes
Balan
ce
Trans
fer
Facilit
Availa
ble.
y:
Eligibility to Apply:
Age:
Bet
wee
n 21
to
65
Year
s.
Income:
Mini
mu
m
gros
s
mon
thly
inco
me
Rs.
25,0
00/only.
Employ
a)
ment:
Sala
ried:
Mini
mu
m
leng
th of
confi
rme
d
servi
ce
with
pres
ent
emp
loye
r is
six
mon
ths
with
a
total
leng
th of
one
year
servi
ce.
b)
Self
Emp
loye
d:
Mini
mu
m1
year
in
busi
ness
.
(Aga
inst
secu
rity).
Charge
As
s/Fees:
per
curr
ent
sche
dule
of
char
ges.

Personal Finance
“One of the quickest approval processes around”
One can avail unlimited opportunities through Askari Bank’s
Personal Finance. With unmatched financing features in terms of
loan amount, payback period and most affordable monthly
installments, Askari Bank’s Personal Finance makes sure that you
get the most out of your loan. No matter what your need is, Askari
Bank has more ways to serve you than ever before.
Product Featuring:
Resid
ent
Borro
Pakist
wer:
ani
Natio
nals.
Facilit
y:
Term
Finan
ce
Maxi
Finan
mum
cing
upto
Limits
Rs.
:
500,0
00/.
(Clea
n)
Maxi
mum
upto
Rs. 1
Millio
n.
(Secu
red)
Maxi
Tenor
:
mum
upto
5
Years
Mont
Repay
hly
ment:
Install
ments
Marku
p
Comp
Rates
etitive
:
Availa
ble at
all
Servic
Askar
ing:
i
Bank
branc
hes
Balan
ce
Trans
Availa
fer
ble
Facilit
y:
Eligibility to Apply:
A
Between 21
g
to 65 years.
e
:
I
Minimum
n
gross monthly
c
income of Rs.
o
10,000/- only.
m
e
:
F
Maximum
i
upto Rs.
n
500,000/.
a
(Clean)
n
c
i
n
g
L
i
m
i
t
s
:

ASKARI MORTGAGE FINANCE
Product specification:
Ever since the inception of life, shelter has been rated among the
primary needs of mankind, owning a home for oneself still remains
an exclusive dream for many. Askari Bank has made the realization
of your dream to have a house of your very own possible. Whether
you plan to build a house, tailor made to your requirements or buy a
constructed house, Askari mortgage finance enables you to pursue
your goal without any problems. Mortgage is a premium home
financing product for customers aged between 23 – 65 years
belonging to the upper, upper middle and middle income groups,
residing in the urban areas of Pakistan.

Business Finance
You always wanted to put in that extra money into your business,
which makes it grow... and grow. Now you can stop worrying about
your daily cash requirements, and start enjoying our unique Askari
Business Finance facility.
Product Featuring:
B
Resident
or
Pakistani
ro
Nationals.
w
er
:
Fa
Running
cil
Finance/T
ity
erm
:
Finance.
Fi
Maximum
na
upto
nc
Rs.1.0
in
Million
g
Maximum
Li
upto
mi
Rs.50.0
ts:
Million
Pr
Residentia
im
l&
ar
Commerci
y
al / Built
Se
up
cu
Properly &
rit
Land.
y:
M
Running
od
Finance:
e
One year
of
line of
Fi
credit
na
(renewabl
nc
e).
in
g:
R
Running
ep
Finance:
ay
Monthly
m
debt
en
servicing
t:
on the
outstandin
g balance.
M
Competitiv
ar
e.
ku
p
R
at
es
:
Se
Available
rvi
at all
ci
Askari
ng
Bank
:
Branches.
B
Available
al
an
ce
Tr
an
sf
er
Fa
cil
ity
:
Eligibility to Apply:
Age:
21 to
65
Year
s.
Borrow
Resi
ers:
dent
Paki
stani
Nati
onal
s.
Busine
Maxi
ss
mum
Requir
upto
ements
Rs.
:
500,
000/.
(Cle
an)
Emplo
Mini
yment:
mum
one
year'
s
busi
ness
or
profe
ssio
nal
expe
rienc
e in
the
pres
ent
busi
ness
Charge
As
/Fees:
per
curre
nt
Sche
dule
of
char
ges
2) Price
“Market value, or agreed exchange value, that will purchase a
definite quantity, weight, or other measure of a good or service.”
Products prices of ACBL are determined by:
1) SBP
2) Head Office, Rawalpindi
The markup or price paid for services mainly includes:

Long term loans

Short term loans

Letter of credit

Guarantees

Bill discounting

Remittances

Lockers

Bank drafts

Appraisal fee

Bank commission
3) Promotion
Promotion is one of the four elements of marketing mix (product,
price, promotion, distribution). “It is the communication link between
sellers and buyers for the purpose of influencing, informing, or
persuading a potential buyer's purchasing decision.”
The following are two types of Promotion:

Above the line promotion: Promotion in the media (e.g. TV, radio,
newspapers, Internet, Mobile Phones, and, historically, illustrated
songs) in which the advertiser pays an advertising agency to place the
ad

Below the line promotion: All other promotion. Much of this is
intended to be subtle enough for the consumer to be unaware that
promotion is taking place. E.g. sponsorship, product placement,
endorsements, sales promotion, merchandising, direct mail, personal
selling, public relations, trade shows
Askari bank does its promotion through following ways:

Brochures

Banners

Billboards

Ad in the newspaper

Direct marketing

Public relations
4) Place
Last marketing tool is placement, which includes the various
activities a bank undertakes to make product and services easily
accessible or available to customers. ACBL has opened almost all
its branches at Commercial areas or near to commercial areas so
that the customers or clients face no problem in reaching to the
bank.
Competitive strategy
As Askari more on to device a strategic plan for coming years for
Askari bank, it need to constantly remind itself that the margins are
shrinking. The number of financial players in the market has gone
up several times since the early 90’s. Not only the number of
players has increased many folds but they are also much better
equipped with much stronger capital bases, reach and competent
managements.
Analysis
I m conducting the competitive analysis between ACBL and Bank
Alfalah with respect to the working of their HR department, Before
conducting an analysis it is feasible to briefly overview the
competitor’s findings.
Introduction:
(Askari Bank Ltd)
Askari Bank Limited (the Bank) was incorporated
in Pakistan on October 9, 1991 as a public limited company and is
listed on the Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad Stock Exchanges.
Human Resource department:
ACBL is an organization that provides opportunities for its staff to
have a challenging and rewarding long-term career. To this end the
Human Resource Group (HRG) encourages and motivates its
employees to excel in the responsibility that they have in the
organization .It believes that creativity and innovation comes from
talent, knowledge and experience and it is ACBL’s endeavor to
provide and maintain an environment which not only nourishes
these strengths but also provides opportunities for the staff to have
a career which has multidimensional growth opportunities.
In doing so, HRG has been restructuring and redesigning the
overall structure of the organization, which includes rationalization,
cutting down the decision layers, improvement in staff training and
hiring professionals and MBAs at entry-level management.
The overall direction of HRG has been towards nurturing the
strengths of the human capital to its maximum with a defining
principal to help create a progressive environment and sustain a
thorough commitment of our staff towards focused customer
service.
Recruitment & Selection
In ACBL recruitment is done by following three ways:

Internal job announcement

Hiring through talent pool

Job advertisement
1: Internal Job Announcement:
Internal job announcement
is divided into four sections. The whole procedure of recruitment
passed through these sections, from announcement to recruitment.
These sections are:

Segment

HRD (human resource division)

Staff

Candidate’s Supervisor
Steps of recruitment process:
Following are the steps of whole
recruitment process through announcement:
Step 1:
Request is raised by the segment on a “Requisition Form”
with complete information.
Step2:
Budgetary and position related requirements are checked
by HRD, recruitment and an internal job announcement is
broadcasted through e-mail.
Step3:
Staff reads the internal job announcement, fills in
application and submits it to HR before the mentioned cut-off date.
Step4:
Recruitment reviews and shortlist the applications, the
entries are forwarded to the segment for selection by HRD.
Step5:
HR conducted initial interviews of interested employees,
filled IAF and sent it to the relevant segment.
Step6:
Segment receives the application from recruitment and
calls the candidates for interview.
Step7:
“Interview assessment form”/ Comments of segment are
filled for the candidate with details if he/she is selected or rejected.
IF SELECTED:
If candidate is selected then:
Step8:
Recruitment sends an e-mail request containing relevant
information to HR Operations for the issuance of internal transfer
letter to the candidate. In reply to the e-mail HR Operations issues
a transfer order to the candidate.
Step9:
HR files interview Assessment form into the employee’s
personal file. Master Database is updated.
Step10:
Candidate’s Supervisor receives the mail from HR with
appropriate release date for the candidate.
IF REJECTED:
After step 7 if candidate is rejected then:
Step8:
Staff and his Supervisor are informed.
2: Hiring through talent pool:
Hiring through talent pool is
divided into two sections. The whole procedure of recruitment
passed through these sections. These sections are:

Segment

HRD (human resource division)
Steps of recruitment process:
Following are the steps of whole
recruitment process through talent pool:
Step1:
If an appropriate resource is not selected from within the
bank, HR revisits the ERF (Employee’s Requisition Form) and
searches for resumes and searches for resumes from the HR
Talent Pool (On-Line)
Step2:
Resumes are selected / screened by HR recruitment as per
the given criteria. These are scrutinized, short listed and forwarded
to the segment.
Step3:
Segment receives the short listed resumes and contacts
the candidate for interview.
Step4:
The Segment completes the IAF with detailed comments
(Recommended package, positive traits etc).
Clearly indicating if the candidate is RECOMMENDED or
DECLINED sent to HR with all delegated approvals.
Step5:
Interview Assessment Form is received by HR.
IF DECLINED:
If resume is rejected then:
Step6:
Process is closed.
IF RECOMMENDED:
If resume is recommended then:
Step6:
Candidate is called for a final interview. HR completes the
IAF and discusses the salary package with the candidate.
Step7:
HR prepares the letter of Appointment and calls candidates
for collection.
Note:

Upcountry / remote areas: Telephonic interviews will be conducted
by manager / Assistant manager recruitment.

CV’S are uploaded into website (www.askaribank.com or HR online)
by segments or interested candidates.

CV’S received through walk-in, post & or e-mail will also be uploaded
on the Talent Pool after through screening by HR.

HR will utilize the database to get resource information as and when
required.
3: Job advertisement:
Hiring through job advertisement is
divided into two sections. The whole procedure of recruitment
passed through these sections. These sections are:

HRD (human resource division)

Marketing
Steps of recruitment process:
Following are the steps of whole
recruitment process through job advertisement:
Step 1:
If an appropriate resource is not selected from within the
bank Internal Broadcast & HR Talent Pool, HR will then proceed
with the advertisement channel.
Step 2:
Recruitment will draft a write up for the vacant position and
send it to Marketing along with a target date for publishing.
Step 3:
Marketing will coordinate with the agency and develop a
sample proof of the desired advertisement.
Step 4:
Marketing will receive the sample proof of the
advertisement from the agency, proof read it and will forward it to
HR for approval.
Step 5:
HR receives the sample proof from Marketing, coordinates
with the segment. If OK HR gets final approved sample proof to
Marketing.
Step 6:
Marketing receives the approved sample proof from HR
and coordinate with the agency to place the advertisement in the
local newspaper.
Introduction:
(Bank Alfalah)
Bank Alfalah was established in July 1997. Its H.O
is in Karachi and bank has 49 branches allover Pakistan.
Services:
Bank is offering different types of services for all its
valued customers. These services are: ATM, online banking, home
loan, car financing etc.
Human Resource department:
Bank has a HR dept who
perform different sort of functions. The dept advertises in
newspaper for the jobs then recruitment and selection process
occurs. Training and development is major task of HR dept.
In HR dept there is one Executive incharge, one assistant executive
incharge and personal managers.
Selection & recruitment:
Bank advertises in newspaper &
candidates apply for the jobs, after test, interview and other
formalities the selected candidates are given 6 months training.
Every year the bank offers 30 vacancies for the post of MTO’S.
The MTO program is a highly competitive & sought after induction
scheme, in which short-listed applicants appear in a written test
followed by a panel interview. Successful candidates then receive
comprehensive training in essential areas of branch banking at the
bank’s state of the art training facility at Karachi. They are
subsequently posted at the banks prior to their posting at various
branch locations in Pakistan. Preferred educational background for
entry into the MTO scheme includes an MBA degree, MA
economics or M.com from reputable Pakistani or foreign institution
with GPA of 3 plus or equivalent. Strong personal character, as well
as communication and interpersonal skills are essential pre
requisites to succeed as MTO.
Training & development:
Its management believes in
developing the potential of the bank’s employees to the fullest
extent. T&D center of the bank is housed in custom built, state of
the art facility on the 4th floor of the H.O building at Karachi. The
center is responsible for providing multi-level high quality training
programs to all staff members in the following areas:

Consumer banking operation

Credit marketing & credit proposal

Credit administration/documentation

Trade finance operation

Marketing & selling skills

Customer service skills

Performance appraisal skills

Time management

Personal effectiveness
It is obligatory for each staff member of the bank to attend at least
one training program. Wherever the training department is unable
to provide focused training for certain groups of staff, reputable
external training providers are invited to fill the gap.
The candidates are given 6 month training in which theoretical
lectures are given along with different case studies, situations &
presentations techniques. Groups are made to enhance
coordination and team building candidates with different skills and
abilities are appreciated for their creativity. During the job formal &
informal meetings are conducted where all employees are free to
speak and they can give different ideas and plans. Employees are
encouraged for continuous learning and bank even send its
employees for special training courses to abroad.
Main training pressure paid of Bank Alfalah is also same to that of
ACBL, i.e.

Identification that either the training of current employees is necessary
or not, depends on the result of Annual Performance Report.
Reward system:
Each manager submit the report of his
subordinates to his boss in which they evaluate his employees from
different dimensions and if audit report of any branch show
negative impact than all types of increments are stopped of all
employees of that branch.
Analysis
Analyzing the training and development practice of ACBL and
comparing it with T & D of Bank Alfalah it is concluded that
currently ACBL is effectively meeting its targets, but to encounter
with future demands, ACBL needs to overcome some short
comings in order to maintain and gain competitive edge.
Business process analysis
In FY09, for the first nine months banks were reluctant to lend to
corporate and individuals owing to skyrocketing bad loans amid lack of
demand from industries who were avoiding high financial charges. But,
with some sign of economic recovery, lately, with inflation tapering off
amid marginal growth in large-scale manufacturing sector, the demand
for corporate credit gradually rose. However, attractive rates offered by
government bonds still remain lucrative enough - wooing banks to put
depositor’s money in low risk papers instead of meeting the demand of
private sector (Industry review, Business Recorder, 2010).
Financial performance:
Askari Bank was able to post an after-tax net income of Rs 1.18bn in
FY09, which is 187% increase from the previous year of FY08. The bank
has been able to accomplish this through various ways. Its year-on-year
mark-up interest income increased by 23%, mounting to Rs 22bn in FY09.
Following this, we observed that there was a huge increase in particulars
of provision for impairment in value of investments by 1500%, as the
amounted augmented to Rs 76,784 million in FY09 compared to Rs 5
million in FY08. This was due to the charges for the year that were
charged on the investments made by the bank. Second was the increase
in the gain on sale of investments, which increased by 291% amounting
to Rs 143 million in which two main particulars have to be pointed out.
GAIN ON SALE OF INVESTMENTS - NET (000s)
2009
Market Treasury Bills
62,177
Shares - Listed
47,015
2008
266
6,682
Such high increase in sale of investments, have yielded in high profits for
the bank for FY09.
The scenario of the NPLs does not seem very favorable for the bank. The
NPLs have consistently seen an increase, indicating that the bank is either
not very efficient at collecting the outstanding loans or has a very liberal
loan distribution policy. Their pace of growth has outdone the rate of
increase in advances. The bank may face considerable credit risk from its
loan defaulters. In FY06, bank s advances witnessed marginal increases in
consumer finances, especially Ijara financing, corporate financing while
they observed a slight decline in the shares of SME and agriculture.
The assets of the bank witnessed some shift in their composition away
from loans towards investments. This has also been the trend industry
wide to meet the MCR requirements as directed by the State Bank of
Pakistan. Though these investments offer lower returns than the loans,
they are more preferable in this situation for the bank as it is struggling to
get its loan..
In FY09, the bank maintained its marginal increase of lending to financial
institutions as it only increased by 3%, similarly the advances too are seen
as controlled lending as these also increased by a mere 5%. The reasons
tend to be the same as it were in the previous year. Low advances
because of high NPLs raising from consumer banking and also from
certain sectors of the economy especially the textile sector. However, on
the flip side, we see a dramatic increase of 88% of investments, which
amounted to Rs 135bn. The investments category is further broken down
to see where investments are done.
The liquidity of the bank has maintained a consistent upward trend, with
its yield on earning assets always above the cost of funding them. It s
imperative to note that cost and yield on funding earning assets run
parallel which means that banks are not compromising on their spreads
in the years of performance regardless of dynamic economic conditions.
This liquidity consistency in the years until FY06 may be attributed to the
excess liquidity that prevailed in the industry due to high reserve growth
of the banking sector.
The State Bank of Pakistan intervened in this situation by contracting the
monetary policy. Also, post-emergency declaration when the rupee fell,
the SBP intervened twice to ease the liquidity conditions in the market.
The SBP has prudently managed the liquidity while the bank also has
certain arrangements to maintain its liquidity. It has most of its
investments in treasury bills. The liquidity position may be predicted to
remain similar to the above in the coming years. However, at the same
time Askari needs to safeguard its liquidity against the increasing NPLs.
Askari Bank was able to maintain its liquidity condition with keeping its
ratios in line with previous year of FY08. The earning assets to assets
remained at 81% as much of the percentage was due to the fact of a high
increase of investments in the government securities. Subsequently,
advances to deposits remain constant at 71%, as the bank did not
increase its advances to consumers due to high NPLs to advances in the
previous year.
The bank s spread was sustained at 4% as it only decreased marginally by
1%. This was because the industry average remains to be at 5-6% for
FY09. This again helps us to understand the positivity of the bank in such
recessionary condition that they are not compromising on their spread
and maintaining at 4%.
The solvency of the company has been successfully maintained over the
years. As evident, the share of equity is increasing. This may be regarded
as a move against the rise in deposit rates and a decrease in the banking
spread of the banking sector. This healthy trend in solvency may be
predicted to continue in the future. The greater than earning assets
deposits are the result of excess reserve money growth while the
increase in the non-performing advances has undermined the advances
performance. With the gradual shift to investments, we may expect the
adverse impact of the NPLs to reduce, but this may take a long time.
The trend of maintaining healthy solvency was carried out even in FY09,
as the equity to assets was maintained at 6.1%, along with this the
earning assets to deposits remained 100%. This shows the asset based is
well utilized by the bank and with the new trend to shift towards low risk
investment of government securities. As observed more of the deposits
are concerned with long-term deposits.
Asset quality has been improving since 2008. We saw a decrease in
provisioning to NPLs in FY09, as it decreased by 7% from FY08. With the
new regulation by the SBP of keeping Forced Sale Value to 40%, the
upcoming provisioning would be lower than the previous ones. The asset
quality was also maintained as low advances were given to consumer as
well as other corporate sectors; therefore the NPLs to advances also
stood still at 9% in FY09, whereas the NPLs were still the same for the
period but not increasing as can be seen through previous years.
The market value of the bank has shown an upward trend throughout.
The bank has been a consistent distributor of the dividends. The
increased profitability of the banking sector (an increase of around 100%)
has made this sector one of the most lucrative ones to invest. This
increasing marketability profile is reflective of Askari s high yields on
earning assets and favorable liquidity and solvency positions. We may
expect such trend to continue in the future. In FY06, the high share-price
of the bank is accountable for this trend. Market value to book vale are
not reliable measures of performance anymore as the market prices of
shares are distorted therefore it does not depict a true picture.
In FY09, the market value rose after the nine months ending showing a
late year push towards the recovery of the economy. As the investors
gained confidence in the company, the results were shown as the EPS
surged from Rs 0.95 to Rs 2.18 in FY09. However the dividend payout
remains very low, as low as 0.07%.
The bank has maintained its reputation as one of the consistent payers of
dividends. This year the bank did not give any cash dividends rather it
gave stock dividend, this would help bank in two ways, first, by
maintaining liquidity and second by making up for the MCR
requirements.
The bank was able to maintain a healthy 11.5% contrast to
minimum requirement of 10%.
The required minimum capital requirement can be achieved by the bank,
either by fresh capital injection or retention of profits. The stock dividend
declared will be counted towards the required paid up capital of the bank
pending completion of the formalities for issuance of bonus shares. The
bank intends to meet this requirement by way of bonus issue subsequent
to balance sheet date, in this year.
Future outlook
The banking industry can be seen positively as some private credit
increase is observed in the year-end of 2009 and started picking
up. With key policy rate at 12.5% the SBP maintains to keep a
balance and wants to increase the circulation of the money in the
economy and not keeping it tied up.
On the other hand, much of the investments still lie on the
government securities as the government borrowing.
With uncertainty still hovering in the economy and the inflation till
Feb 2010 still remains high at 13.8%, the key policy rate is
designed neither to be tight nor to be sluggish. Therefore much can
be expected in the upcoming year, as the pace for economy
recovery along with increase private credit can uplift the economic
cycle.
Concerns of SLR and CRR are not in consideration for most banks
as healthy safety is kept to ensure no bankruptcy is involved.
The only matter of concern would remain the outcome of the new
monetary policy which is said to be designed in a way to boost the
economy.
Askari Bank in particular remains strong in terms of their balance
sheet as their asset base is strong and their liabilities are more of
long term. Along with this the current year performance is
considered extraordinary. Therefore positive expectation can be
anticipated for the bank.
S.W.O.T. Analysis
SWOT analysis gives a very good analysis of what the firm is, what
it wants and what can it do to get better than it is at the same time
indicating the factors that could lead to a havoc.
SWOT is an abbreviation for;

Strength

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats
Strengths
Askari Bank has set its firm foot in Pakistan and has gained its
strengths over the period of time an effort of enlisting its strengths
can be done as follow;

The past decade has been the biggest strength because that was the
time when there was not much of the competition and it gave time for
the company to adjust and now it has grown better than the rest

It has a good reward policy of giving bonuses and incentives for its
customers.

Askari Bank has a flawless Customer services

The MIS they use in the company is always updated well ahead of time
giving the bank an upper edge

Honesty, Equality and fairness prevail throughout the organization and
that is the utmost requirement.

The card division has strong network facilities nationwide

ACBL has got a well-developed on-line system in most of its branches.
Remittance Department is working very efficiently in transferring the
funds of people due to this system.

-
hour banking is new trend in Pakistan and ACBL has also taken apart
in this trend.

One distinctive feature of the bank is that it is the only bank working for
the welfare of army officers, which was established by Army Welfare
Trust.

quality service to its customers.

done are handled by ACBL.
Weaknesses

A certain education level should be set for a particular task, it adds up
to the hard-work, the company has some undergraduates as well
which can effect the company

Its good to have a friendly working environment but there should be a
code of conduct.

Because of the increasing workload the employees a being over
burdened

The inventory management is not up to the mark

Promotions and transfer from departments is a political issue.

Bank is not introducing new products and new saying schemes. Bank
should boost the product development and increase the range of
facilities offered for customers..
Opportunities

Better and convenient services to employees and business class.

Expansion of their branch network can be very helpful.

Engage qualified professionals for providing specialized banking
products and services to their customers, reorganization of existing
systems as well as Infrastructure with de-centralized work processes.
The human resource factor plays a critical role maintaining the
efficiency and profitability level of the bank in future.

Institutionalization of HRM (best person should be posted for best
assignment), depoliticizing the atmosphere.

Bank can extend its network in other countries.

It can enhance its profitability by making use of new technology.

The plastic money business still has a lot of potential to grow so it
gives the company an opportunity to introduce new products and
services.

They should keep on looking for opportunities in the market because
it’s a first come first served situation.
Threats

Very uncertain economic conditions.

Actions taken by competitors.

Political instability.

Employees turnover rate is too high

Politics involved in a working atmosphere has never done well for the
company it has always gone the other way round.

ACBL has many competitors, which are continuously increasing its
products and marketing aggressively. It may cause its customers to
shift to competitors.

for ACBL, because human resource is the most valuable resource.

Pakistan India relations often create a war danger. This chance of
war may cause army officer and their families to increase the
frequency of withdrawals, which would decrease deposits.
LEARNING
One of the most important aims of student’s life is to express
himself correctly and adequately, with this belief in mind, I decided
to go to Askari bank to complete my internship program.
Determined, confident and persistent in the pursuit of
knowledge and learning, I was on my to Askari bank DHA II branch
in the morning of 21st June 2010.
 Duties
I performed different duties that were assigned to me
throughout the internship. Duties that I performed during my 6
weeks of internship are related to different departments. I
performed my duties in departments like:

Accounts department

Account opening

Credits

Remittances

Foreign & international trade
I also perform my duty of operating photocopy machine and fax
machine.
 Accomplishments
I worked in different departments, but the knowledge I
gained from accounts department is very valuable. I really liked
working in that department. Working in this department was quiet
tough as compared to other departments but the knowledge I
gained from that department was very helpful to me.
The internship program is very beneficial. It provides me good
opportunity to learn new things. Moreover it teaches me to know
that world of study and world of work are completely different.
Unlike studying, working life is not smooth. Often, I faced many
problems during working. I found that there are two valued things
that help me to solve problems are “braveness and patience”.
Brave to face and be patient to solve them.
 New Knowledge Acquired
All the knowledge I acquired from my internship is new to
me, because I had never done internship before. Directly
communicating
with
customers
and
fulfilling
their
basic
requirements was totally a new experience for me. I learned how to
communicate effectively and efficiently with customers. Internship
also improves my communication skills with different persons in
well manner.
During working at Askari, I had a chance to use every of English
skill.
First is writing. I was assigned to write many kinds of letter such
as official letter of invitation, letter of sympathy and letter of
informing. This not only made me improve my writing skill, but I also
learned
how
to
write
proposals
in
the
real
situation.
Second is reading. All the documents are in English so it is
necessary that reading and understanding skills should be good.
Reading English documents everyday helped me have a better
reading skill. I can read faster and can find out main point easier.
Third is listening and speaking. Since I worked with foreign
exchange & international trade manager for 1 week, she speaks
with me in English most of the times. Throughout the week in
foreign exchange & international trade department, I had to
communicate with supervisor and colleagues in English. Of course,
my listening skill is improved and had more confidence in speaking
English.
 Problems Encountered
Internship was a good experience for me, but there are
some problems which I faced in the begging of my internship.
During the internship program, I faced some problems in my work.
The first problem is writing official letters. I had to write many kinds
of official letter or proposals in English which I have never written
before; for example, the official letter of invitation, the official letter
of informing and the official letter of sympathy. These letters had
been sent to different companies for their credit requirements,
therefore, it needed exquisiteness. I tried my best to cope with this
problem by trying to study the previous letter and consulted with my
mentor, Mr. Bilal Zahid and Mr. Osman Yusuf, Credit manager.
However, this kind of problem taught me to learn new vocabularies
and idioms used in business world. For me it is very beneficial.
Besides writing official letter, I had some difficulties in translating
documents. I was assigned to translate the documents both from
English into Urdu and Urdu into English. This was my first time to
translate official documents. For translating English into Urdu, my
heavy-hearted thing was that there are several technical terms that
I have never seen before. Moreover any dictionaries couldn’t help
me. The best way to solve this problem was “don’t hold on form”
but had to interpret and translate them from the context. For
translating Urdu into English, I was assigned from Credit officer to
translate advertisement and credit manuals. I haven’t been
accustomed to using credit language, so it was quite difficult for me.
I coped with this by learning advertising language and idiom used in
Internet, magazine and newspaper in order to be guideline in using
credit language appropriately and accurately.
 How Experience Impacts your Career
Upon the start of my internship at Askari bank I did
not have a lot of experience in public relations. In some capacity I
knew that I would be working towards improving the image of
customers and my supervisors, which in this office ranges from
high tech startups, to publicly traded companies, to profit and nonprofit organizations. However, I was unsure of what exactly an
intern in the services industry would be responsible for on a daily
basis.
After six weeks of my internship i can honestly say that I have
learned a great deal about the industry itself and I now have a more
concrete understanding of what the job description is for one who
works in public relations.
Among the many things that I have learned almost in the last two
months, the most important for me are the general knowledge that I
now have about the field, as well as the tools that I have gained
that will enable me to perform better when working in the industry.
The internship program at Askari bank has provided me with a
strong foundation for what might likely be the start of a career in
public relations. I now have confidence in myself that I can work
successfully in a services firm and be a strong asset to a
hardworking team. However, just as a house is not complete after
the foundation is laid, there is still much more for me to learn and
experience.
I look forward to continuing this path of learning and exploration
and will not forget what I learned during my six weeks of internship.
Identification of plausible problem(s)
There are problems being faced here at Askari Bank some of which
can easily be highlighted;

Bank is facing a high tax rate, which affects its profitability and
attractiveness for new entrants.

Middle class and low income group have limited access to bank credit.

Weak internal controls, non-merit based recruitments

High administrative costs affect the performance of bank.

Continuous maintenance is compulsory

Favoritisms while promoting employees.

Education level of the employees
Recommendations
Besides taking care of the above mentioned problems there are
some recommendations which can be advised to the bank, which
can be helpful for the Bank:
1. Employees should be given a course of training from time to
time or they can also use the on the Job training method.
Training can be done in the following areas

Better training of employees in the communication skills area

Undergrads have to be trained accordingly

Continuous training about the latest updates
2. New advertising campaigns should be launched especially in
the electronic advertisement areas
3. There is a need for expansion of the working area especially in
the finance department as the work load is increasing and new
recruitments are compulsory
4. Politics should be discouraged in such an environment
5. The employees should be given more incentives and rewards
for their good performances
6. There should always be innovation in any business to flourish
and there is a lot more to explore in the banking sector and its
always first come first served.
Conclusion

Banking is one of the most sensitive businesses all over the world as
banks play very vital role in the economy of a country and Pakistan is
no exemption.

Askari Bank has been growing both in size and profits for past few
years and is one of the most reputed groups. It has gained a good
repute in the banking sector of Pakistan.

Employees are the most important assets for any organization as the
success of any organization lye in their hands, therefore there is a
need the group to focus on the needs of their employees. The bank
has to overcome its weaknesses and should avail the opportunities
available in the industry, because competition is very intense
particularly in the banking sector these days the organization which
offers far better services to its customers than its rivals will succeed
ultimately.

I have made an honest attempt to generate an original piece of writing
that could serve as a vivid proof of the fact that students at Comsats
Institute of Information Technology (CIIT) are certainly no mugs at
what they do. I truly hope that this report also certifies the fact that all
of my worthy teachers performed their duties of academic guidance
and moral mentoring with utmost efficiency and effectiveness.
Bibliography

www.askaribank.com.pk

www.wikipedia.com

www.google.com

www.answers.com

www.sbp.org.pk

Askari bank general banking mannual