Pakistan’s largest commercial bank in the private sector, HBL, faces allegations of facilitating terror financing during the 2010-19 period, a charge that the bank said it is contesting “fully and vigorously” in a US court. Media reports suggested that some 370 individual complainants had demanded compensation from HBL. This subsequently triggered a big fall in the bank’s share price on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday.
HBL has become the first Pakistani bank to be awarded the much-coveted branch license to offer financial services to clients in Beijing, China. The branch license was awarded by China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) in December 2019. The preparatory work of setting up the HBL Beijing branch is now underway.
The Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Multan Sultans apparently participated in fourth season of HBL PSL without depositing mandatory franchise fee. Reportedly, the annual amount of $6.35 million, needs to be deposited before start of the season. However, four months having gone by and the Multan Consortium, led by Ali Khan Tareen has not made payment to Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).