History of the bank

Established in Tanzania in 1998, Habib African Bank belongs to the most famous, respected and trusted Habib family who  are treated as the pioneers of banking industry in the sub continents.

Habib family has been in the forefront of an active and acclaimed international banking business for over 8 decades. Habib Esmail, following the death of his father at an early age, joined a leading  dealer in  metals, copper and brass and subsequently became a junior partner in the firm within  five years by virtue of his hard work, honesty and business acumen. In 1920 he founded his own business of financing traders and introduced merchant banking  under the name of Habib & Sons. After the death of Habib Esmail in 1931, his two sons, Dawood and Mohamed Ali not only consolidated their father’s business but took it to new heights by extending to new areas.

Habib Bank Limited which later on turned out to be the flagship of Habib family’s business was founded in Bombay in 1941. The bank relocated its head office to Karachi before the creation of Pakistan and played a pivotal role in meeting the basic banking and financial needs of the new country specially during its infancy.

Carrying on the mantle from Dawood and Mohamed Ali, their sons shaped the Habib Bank  as one of the largest commercial banks in South Asia with 875 branches in Pakistan  and  44 branches overseas. In January 1974 all domestic banks were nationalized in Pakistan; so was Habib Bank Limited. The group founded its operations in the UK in 1984, now known as Habibsons Bank Limited which expanded its network in the UK and opened a branch in Zurich, Switzerland.