Pakistan’s largest bank by deposits takes the CFA Society Pakistan’s top large-bank honour, a title Meezan Bank had held, as UBL posts Rs116.6bn in nine-month profit; HBL and Meezan hold this year’s other ‘best bank’ crowns.
LAHORE: The United Bank Ltd (UBL) has been named Best Bank of the Year 2025 in the large banks category by the CFA Society Pakistan, taking an award that Meezan Bank had won at the previous edition and adding a professional seal to a year in which UBL became the country’s biggest bank by deposits.
The award was presented at the society’s 23rd Annual Excellence Awards, UBL said in a statement. The bank also won the Best ESG Reporting Award for 2025, and was runner-up for Corporate Finance House of the Year (Fixed Income), covering January 2025 to June 2026, and for Best Digital Banking Services of the Year 2025 among commercial banks.
“This prestigious recognition reflects UBL’s commitment to excellence, strength and continued growth, backed by the trust of millions of customers across Pakistan,” the bank said, promoting the award under the slogan “Pakistan’s #1 Bank”.
Breaking a winning streak
The CFA Society Pakistan, the local member society of the U.S.-based CFA Institute, holds one of the longest-running awards programmes in Pakistan’s financial sector, judging institutions on their performance and the value they provide to investors.
At its 22nd edition last November, Meezan Bank won Best Bank of the Year for large banks, receiving the award from State Bank of Pakistan Governor Jameel Ahmad, Business Recorder reported, and the Islamic lender said it was the sixth consecutive year it had won the society’s overall best bank recognition. UBL’s win in the large-bank category ends that run. Faysal Bank was also named Best Bank of the Year 2025 at the same awards, ProPakistani reported.
UBL won the CFA’s large-bank title in 2016, and it has picked up category awards at the society’s ceremonies since, including two at last year’s edition.
How big UBL has become
UBL says it now has Rs6.5 trillion in deposits, more than 2,200 branches, a capital base of Rs529 billion and over 35,000 employees.
The growth has been rapid. Deposits nearly doubled in 2025, from Rs2.6 trillion, or 8.7pc of the industry, at the end of 2024 to Rs5.2 trillion, or 13.8pc, a year later, according to an analysis by Profit. Corporate deposits more than doubled, government deposits more than quadrupled and foreign currency deposits rose to Rs1.24 trillion. In April, UBL overtook HBL to become the country’s largest bank by deposits, and it reported Rs6.1 trillion by the end of June.
The analysis credited much of the expansion to President and Chief Executive Officer Muhammad Jawaid Iqbal, who has led the bank since 2023 and holds about 4pc of its shares directly and through entities he controls.
Profits, and what is behind them
UBL earned Rs116.56 billion after tax in the nine months to September, up 16.5pc from a year earlier, with earnings per share of Rs46.54, MG News reported. It was the first Pakistani bank to post more than Rs100 billion in pre-tax profit in a single quarter, earlier this year. The bank has paid Rs24 per share in interim dividends for 2026.
The detail shows how the earnings were made. Net interest income rose 5.8pc, while non-markup income more than doubled to Rs98.1 billion, driven by Rs47.9 billion in gains on the sale of securities, up from Rs9.1 billion. Operating expenses rose 52.5pc to Rs138.3 billion. Taxes took Rs125.7 billion, more than half of pre-tax profit.
Gains on securities depend on interest-rate moves and are less predictable than lending income.
Other crowns, other winners
UBL’s “#1” claim rests on deposits and profit, and its CFA award. Other judges have chosen differently this year. Euromoney named HBL Pakistan’s best bank in its 2026 Awards for Excellence in July, and the Pakistan Banking Awards in August named Meezan Bank best bank for the sixth time, with Faysal Bank and Askari Bank winning in the mid-sized category.
UBL has collected several specialist titles in 2026, including Euromoney’s best investment bank for debt capital markets in Pakistan and FinanceAsia’s best lender, Business Recorder reported. Its digital banking runner-up place at the CFA awards comes as nine in ten payments through Pakistan’s banks are now digital.
Pressure points
The bank’s scale also brings responsibilities. UBL shareholders approved in August a rights issue of up to Rs22 billion to recapitalise Khushhali Microfinance Bank, whose equity had fallen to about negative Rs16 billion and below the central bank’s minimum requirement. Khushhali swung to a pre-tax profit in 2025 and has since won a turnaround award.
Competition for deposits remains intense. Meezan, the largest Islamic bank, added Rs632 billion in deposits in the latest period even as its financing shrank, a sign that banks are finding it easier to gather savings than to lend them to the private sector.
“Your trust inspires us. Our people drive us. Together, we move Pakistan forward,” UBL said. Customers with complaints can approach the State Bank’s Sunwai portal, the bank noted.
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