KARACHI: Khushhali Microfinance Bank has won the Best Turnaround Microfinance Bank and Best Housing Finance award at the Pakistan Microfinance Network’s annual conference, weeks after shareholder United Bank Ltd won approval to inject up to Rs22 billion to repair the lender’s capital.
The awards were presented at the network’s 10th Annual Microfinance Conference, organised with the UN Industrial Development Organization under the EU-funded PAIDAR programme.
The bank said it swung from a loss of Rs3.6 billion in 2024 to a pre-tax profit of Rs4 billion in 2025, a turnaround of Rs7.6 billion, and that its 90-day portfolio-at-risk ratio fell to 3.8% from 6.2%.
“Our turnaround has been driven by a strategic effort to de-risk our balance sheet, reduce cost of deposit, improve collection and portfolio quality, and by diversifying our lending book,” President and Chief Executive Aameer Karachiwalla said, adding that the bank had invested in credit underwriting technology and loan verification.
Its balance sheet, however, still needs repair. UBL’s disclosure to shareholders put Khushhali’s equity at about negative Rs16.15 billion at the end of December 2025, below the State Bank of Pakistan’s minimum capital requirement, and said the central bank had directed it to make up the shortfall. UBL shareholders approved the injection on Aug 24 through a discounted rights issue at Rs2 a share against a Rs10 face value.
The bank’s statement did not address its capital position.
Housing has been the bank’s growth area. It said housing borrowers grew 47% and its housing portfolio 56% in the year, and that it had disbursed Rs21 billion in housing and home-improvement loans by September.
Under government schemes, it disbursed 2,103 loans worth Rs3.31 billion under Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar from 2021, and has approved 437 loans and disbursed about Rs945 million under the Wazir-e-Azam Apna Ghar scheme.
Founded by the government in 2000 with Asian Development Bank support and headquartered in Islamabad, Khushhali is one of the country’s largest microfinance lenders. It reported a net loss of Rs5.96 billion in 2023.
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