AI Issue 11 2017

54 Acquisition International - November 2017 Ghazanfar Bank is a medium range Bank possessing an extensive network across the country. Khisrow Fazli explains more about the success of the Bank, as it is a Recognised Leader in Finance and Banking in Afghanistan as it features as Best of the Best in Finance 2017. hazanfar Bank as an Independent Financial Institution is planning to strive for excellence with a structured path of growth by enhancing of Business by 75% and to establish Top of the Mind recall. Proposing substitution of brick and wall, independent branches with an innovative service provider by implementing hub and spoke concept. Khisrow starts off by giving his views on the state of the finance industry within Afghanistan presently, and what major challenges and outside influence it currently faces. “Firstly, the Afghanistan finance industry is at the nascent stage due to lot of known factors. However, the industry comprises of 16 fully licensed commercial banks and 4 branches of foreign banks with 390 branches throughout the country. The Banking Industry has an asset of $4.17 billion, with deposits of $3.7 billion and an average loan- to-deposit ratio of 19%. It comprises almost 25% of entire GDP, making it the biggest industry of all others. “Secondly, there are many challenges facing the banking industry currently, and the biggest challenge to the industry is deemed to be the unbanked population in the country. The most of Afghan population remains unbanked, with only 10% of Afghans currently holding bank deposits. Many continue to rely on money service providers (hawala) to access finance and transfer money, due to the unfamiliarity with a functioning banking system and limited access to banks in rural areas. One of the main reason of being unbanked is considered to be the lack of awareness of the majority of population.” “Additionally, there is another challenge within the industry, which is considered to be the human resource capacity, which has been under process of development. Throughout Afghanistan there Company: Ghazanfar Bank Contact: Khisrow Fazli Contact Email: [email protected] Address: 866 Sher Pur Main Road, Kabul, Afghanistan Phone: 0093 0797 86 00 66 Website: www.ghazanfarbank.com Moving Ahead From Good to Great G 1711AI93 has been unrest, and the current generation has been lacking the adequate skills and knowledge to further the industry. The want of quality educational opportunities and appropriate training facilities are additional factors in inadequate professional capacity of manpower.” Outlining the bank’s philosophy, Khisrow explains what differentiates the firm from its competitors, marking it out as the best possible for clients and customers who want to ensure their money will be safe. “Significantly, the business produced in terms of balance sheet size and profitability of the Bank by the branches network is comparatively healthy. Ghazanfar Bank as an Independent Financial Institution is planning to strive for excellence with a structured path of growth by enhancing of Business by 75% and to establish Top of the Mind recall. Proposing substitution of brick and wall, independent branches with an innovative service provider. The reputation of Ghazanfar Bank has been a pivotal area of differentiation among all the Banks. The conventional Banking system in general and Islamic Banking window in particular have been considered as a trade mark of trust and satisfaction in the Market. The Bank is entirely customer centric and initiating measures to fulfil the financial needs of the community with perfection and satisfaction.” Throughout the banking industry, everything is done at a fast paced nature and there are always developments and trends on the horizon which the bank must work exceptionally hard to stay at the forefront of these advances, as Khisrow explains. “First and foremost, Ghazanfar Bank offers a wide range of financial products and services to the community. Since the Bank is operating with conventional banking system and an Islamic Banking window, therefore; the Bank is offering products under both systems including funded and non-funded facilities, remittances, Internet and SMS banking, Western Union services and many more as per the needs of the customers. “With young, dynamic and talented Afghan Nationals contributing to over 98% of the workforce, GHAZANFAR BANK has received Global recognition for its capabilities. The need Outlining the bank’s philosophy, Khisrow explains what differentiates the firm from its competitors, marking it out as the best possible for clients and customers who want to ensure their money will be safe.