Brand perception, regional cooperation, and training new talent: What’s facing Pakistani banks?

In 2025, Pakistan was ranked the world’s second-best emerging economy for financial stability by Bloomberg, recognised for its consistent improvement in financial credibility and steady reduction in default risk. 

Trade Finance Global’s (TFG) Doğa Usanmaz heard from Sanam Khan, Manager of Training and Development at Bank AL Habib in Pakistan, on how a bank’s personal brand and talent development contribute to the expansion of local banks’ international reach, and consequently, the expansion of their trade and economic growth.

Doğa Usanmaz (DU): What defines a strong governance culture within Pakistani banks?

Sanam Khan (SK): The corporate governance of Pakistani commercial banks revolves around the principles of fairness, transparency, and accountability. Each bank has a board of directors and a management team that are responsible for addressing concerns around the governance and ensuring compliance with the applicable laws and regulatory instructions of the respective host jurisdiction. 

The culture here entails that accountability is maintained at all levels and responsibility is managed through the systematic alignment of objectives. Each team is accountable for complying with internal and external instructions and ensuring clear communication across all levels of the bank. 

We have separate compliance policies, specifically regarding anti-money laundering (AML), combating the financing of terrorism (CFT), and trade-based money laundering (TBML). So those are monitored periodically by the management team and the board of directors. Implementation across all levels is ensured through rigorous checks. 

DU: How do regulatory and geopolitical shifts shape both strategy and brand perception for banks operating in Pakistan?

SK: Right now, the regulatory and geopolitical shift in Pakistan is actively recalibrating both the strategy and brand narrative for banks. The impact is reflected in specific observable ways across capital allocation, product design, risk posture, and customer trust. 

Regulatory tightening and geopolitical pressures have also pushed banks in Pakistan to adopt a more conservative strategy approach, which prioritises low-risk assets, government assets, and remittance flows. And last but not least, it shifts the culture towards fee-based digital business, as opposed to aggressive private lending. 

These shifts reshape how banks are perceived: as safe, compliant, and stable, but also restrictive and less supportive of growth, specifically for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Most banks today are leveraging digital innovation, strong compliance, and venue-aligned offerings, such as Islamic banking. Banks are seen not just as secure institutions, but also as trusted, modern financial partners.

DU: How does a bank’s brand influence its ability to build long-term relationships with corporate and trade clients?

SK: Banks’ brands act as a signal of reliability, competence, and intent, which is critical for the corporate and trade clients who prioritise continuity and risk mitigation over short-term gains. A strong brand, built on consistency, financial strength, governance, and execution, reduces perceived risk, making clients more willing to commit to long-term business. 

It also influences how clients interpret service-quality delays, which may be tolerated from a trusted bank but never by an unknown one. Beyond trust, brand positioning shapes the relationship depth: banks that embed themselves into client operations are seen as partners, while those perceived as transactional only remain easily replaceable. 

In essence, brand credibility lowers the switching intent of clients. Banks can therefore move from being mere service providers to strategic, long-term financial allies.

DU: In emerging markets, how do banks balance supporting domestic industries while expanding their international network?

SK: Only selected banks in Pakistan have an international footprint. These banks have developed a mechanism where the board oversees and regularly evaluates the financial and operational performance of its overseas subsidiary. They ensure that overseas operations are in line with the overall business model. 

Keeping in mind the nature and size of bank operations across jurisdictions, the board will ensure that comprehensive policies, procedural manuals, standard operating procedures, a competent staff, and proper systems support are put in place in all critical areas of operations. Some of these areas can include risk management, credit risk, and documentation. 

The policy structure for the bank considers both the bank’s domestic and overseas operations. However, each jurisdiction identifies its own conflicts in group-level policies, with the statutory or regulatory framework of the host country. The final policy framework of each jurisdiction is then approved by the bank or the board of management, in line with the host country regulations. 

The compliance function maintains details of all policies across all operating jurisdictions of a bank, in line with requirements from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on compliance and risk management. 

DU: How do institutions like Bank AL Habib collaborate with multilateral development banks (MDBs) such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to drive regional cross-border trade and economic growth?

SK: Commercial banks mostly work with MDBs to provide specialised financing solutions, such as through the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Global Trade Finance Program (GTFP) for capital goods imports. These partnerships enhance banks’ capacity to support import or export activities, including issuing letters of credit (LCs) and providing foreign currency export finance. These collaborations usually take place between, for instance, the SBP and the ADB, at the negotiation or research level. 

Projects are implemented through the commercial banks of Pakistan. For instance, dedicated business lines have been developed for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Pakistan through internationally tested financial services, especially credit facilities. Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs) also play a role in disbursing loans to the eligible SMEs to boost business in the region, boosting trade and economic development, especially through the manufacturing sector. Such collaborations also enhance cross-border ties and revenue streams. 

Moreover, commercial banks in Pakistan have been contributing towards spreading financial literacy to the masses, under the National Financial Literacy Program of SBP, in collaboration with the ADB. 

It all becomes a cycle, aiming to bring more people into the banking realm and providing them with the necessary financial awareness to manage their funds. 

DU: What are the biggest challenges in developing talent for specialised areas like trade finance in Pakistan?

SK: Pakistan has a very dynamic workforce. Over the past decade, human capital management has become a major challenge at an organisational and industrial level. Qualified individuals are not available to assess the capabilities of potential recruits. 

Now that I’m leading the training division in Peshawar, my focus is on capacity building at Bank AL Habib and training employees in trade finance, credit risk, and communication, alongside other soft skills. However, turnover is high, which hinders the potential of these resources to develop expertise in specific disciplines. 

Also, due to a lack of resources, an employee trained in trade finance might find themselves handling additional banking assignments, which does not allow them to focus on one area. Therefore, employees are jacks of multiple banking departments but are masters of none. 

The head office/ field office culture further widens the gap. Banks carry out the various processes within important trade transactions at the head-office level. The field offices merely act as initiators, and the non-delegation of the authority here gives trade officers little to no exposure to practical learning. 

I don’t see this changing in the near future because the global economic and political turmoil has made senior management more cautious: they are tightening the monetary conditions and containing authority within themselves to have strict monitoring over the trade transactions and avoid any instance of money laundering.

DU: Is there a noticeable education or skills gap in the sector, and how can banks help bridge it?

SK: First is the brain drain: high-quality banking professionals often move abroad or to multinational institutions. This reduces the availability of experienced mentors and weakens the internal knowledge ecosystem for trade finance. For trade finance specifically, this gap is even wider because it requires specific regulatory understanding and risk analysis skills. 

Second comes the academics. Universities, for instance, only focus on the theoretical part of trade finance. However, in banking, we provide the necessary training and capacity building that covers theory while also providing practical experience. Banks that invest early in structuring their specialised talent pipelines can have a major competitive advantage in Pakistan.