Allied Bank Limited is charting a bold new course for the upcoming fiscal year by placing digital evolution and specialized banking services at the heart of its operational strategy. During a recent corporate briefing session organized by Intermarket Securities, the financial institution revealed ambitious plans to significantly broaden its Islamic banking footprint. The bank intends to expand its dedicated Shariah-compliant network to exceed 200 branches by the conclusion of 2026. This move reflects a growing domestic demand for Islamic financial products and signals a strategic pivot toward inclusive banking models that cater to a wider demographic of the Pakistani market.
Parallel to its physical expansion, Allied Bank is channeling substantial resources into a comprehensive overhaul of its digital infrastructure. The management team confirmed that intensive work is currently underway to fortify Information Technology systems, which includes a total modernization of the core banking architecture and the primary mobile application. By integrating advanced layers of artificial intelligence, the bank aims to personalize user experiences and optimize backend efficiency. To support this high-tech transition, the institution is also aggressively scaling its server capacity to ensure seamless performance as more consumers migrate from traditional brick-and-mortar interactions to virtual platforms.
The bank’s roadmap for 2026 also emphasizes a shift in its lending portfolio, with a sharp focus on the small and medium enterprise sector along with small loan segments. Recognizing these areas as vital engines for national economic growth, Allied Bank is positioning itself to be a primary credit provider for emerging businesses. This credit strategy is bolstered by a target to achieve a deposit growth rate of more than 15 percent within the next year. Furthermore, the bank is looking to capture a larger share of the home remittance market, leveraging its improved digital rails to facilitate faster and more secure cross-border fund transfers for the diaspora.
A key performance indicator for the bank’s digital success lies in its transaction migration strategy. Allied Bank plans to accelerate the adoption of digital payment tools by increasing its active debit card base from the current 3.9 million to approximately 5 million cards. This push toward a cashless ecosystem is expected to reduce operational overheads while providing customers with greater financial mobility. Despite these forward-looking investments, the bank’s financial report for the year ending December 31, 2025, showed a profit after tax of 36.33 billion rupees. This represents an 18.2 percent dip compared to the 44.39 billion rupees earned in the previous year, with earnings per share settling at 31.73 rupees.
The contraction in earnings was largely attributed to a 21.1 percent decline in mark-up income, which fell to 297.32 billion rupees due to lower policy rates and tightening asset yields. However, the bank successfully mitigated some of this impact by reducing mark-up expenses by 26.5 percent through optimized funding costs. While operating expenses rose by 15.7 percent to 66.82 billion rupees because of inflationary pressures and expansionary costs, the bank’s balance sheet remains resilient. With an equity base rising to 263 billion rupees and a robust capital adequacy ratio of 28 percent, the institution is well-capitalized to fund its ambitious 2026 tech and Islamic banking mandates. The board also maintained investor confidence by approving a total dividend payout of 16 rupees per share for the 2025 period.
Follow the PakBanker Whatsapp Channel for updates across Pakistan’s banking ecosystem