Dawood Islamic Bank has assumed the new identity of Burj Bank for which the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has notified the change of name of “Dawood Islamic Bank Limited” to “Burj Bank Limited” with effect from July 11, 2011. Speaking at a formal launch of the new identity, Pervez Said, President and CEO of the Burj bank resolved to give a new height to Islamic Banking as the new identity Burj denotes by making Islamic Banking as a bench mark in the banking sector of the country.

Giving the reasons for the change of identity of Dawood Islamic Bank he said since the profile of the investors has been change due to fresh investment from Middle East constituting almost 85 percent ownership goes to Middle East Investor the name of the bank has been change in that order.

Pervez Said observed that Burj Bank has emerged with a new vision and new mission. The new vision of the bank is to become the benchmark of Islamic banking backed by a new mission to be among the top ten banks of the country within a decade.

The foreign investment made by Islamic Cooperation Development(ICD) AND Unicorn in the bank is a reflection of the confidence in Pakistan in general and prospects of Islamic Banking in the country.

It may be mentioned that Burj bank has 50 branches across the country and is represented in 17 major cities. Dawood Bank started its operations in 2007. Its new identity as Burj Bank is a reflection of the reprofiling of its shareholding wherein ICD and Unicorn have become major shareholders. Khalid Al-Aboodi CEO ICD who was also present on the occasion is the chairman of the Board of Burj Bank while other directors present were Nicolas Martin of Unicorn and Ahmed Khizer COO of ICD.

The bank is planning to launch exciting new shariah compliant consumer products that will be market competitive. These will cover both asset and liability related offerings. The bank showed strong growth in the first quarter of 2011 and the trend will be further reflected in the six monthly results for the period of ending june 30, 2011. Earlier, Chancellor of Sir Syed University of Engineering & Technology Z.A. Nizami inaugurated the branch of Burj Bank by cutting ribbon at the university campus. Dawood Islamic Bank has been rebranded as Burj Bank to develop modern Islamic finance system in Pakistan with professional skill of strategic planning and management.

While speaking on the auspicious occasion, Chancellor Z.A. Nizami, said that rebranding of the bank is a true test of organizational strategy and focus, and hopefully Dawood Islamic with new identity as Burj Bank will bring out exceptional results offering a number of significant facilities to the clients in today’s economic climate.

Mr Nizami underscored that the bank has the experience as well as deep insight into the financial services industry to help clients successfully toward high performance. Chief Risk Officer Burj Bank, Ihsanullah Ihsan, said: “Rebranding is a positive approach ahead of the curve and confidence returning to the banking system and Burj Bank is planning to expand its banking operations in Pakistan to facilitate its clients with reduced risk.”

Branch Manager SSUET, Syed Muhammad Ali Rizvi, said Pakistan is a huge potential market and Burj Bank is offering attractive profit rates on its saving products based on deposit tiers, allowing the customer to make transactions on his account without any limits.

Registrar Shah Mahmood H. Syed, Prof. Dr. Syed Jawaid Hassan Rizvi and Dr Bilal Alvi also attended the ceremony. Bank officials like Aijaz Ameer, Afshan Mehmood, S.M. Arsalan, Ada , Syed Nabeel Tauseef, Khalil Ahmed and Adnan Rasheed were also present on the occasion.

Burj Bank provides value added facilities to its clients. No minimum balance is required, availability of free of charge ATM card and free of charge access to Burj online banking. The bank also offers the free internet banking services including free funds transfer within Burj Bank branches. Customers could also pay utility bills and transfer funds within the bank.

Source : Pakistan Observer