Allied Bank Limited is a Lahore-headquartered Pakistani commercial bank founded in 1942 as Australasia Bank — making it the first bank established in the territory that became Pakistan. Nationalized in 1974 and privatized twice, it has been controlled by the Ibrahim Group since 2004 and trades on the Pakistan Stock Exchange as PSX: ABL.
Allied Bank Limited is one of Pakistan's oldest and largest commercial banks — as of 2025 it ranks 7th by market capitalization on the Pakistan Stock Exchange and holds roughly 7% of all Pakistani bank deposits.
"Allied Bank" and "ABL" both refer to the same institution: a conventional bank with a dedicated Islamic banking division, ABL Aitebar, running alongside it, plus a separate asset management subsidiary, ABL Asset Management Company (ABL Funds).
Here's what's actually verifiable about the bank — who owns it, who runs it, how large its network is, and what its credit rating says about its financial standing — sourced to ABL's own disclosures and the Pakistan Stock Exchange.
Allied Bank Limited at a Glance
- Founded
- 1942
- Original Name
- Australasia Bank
- Headquarters
- 3-4 Tipu Block, New Garden Town, Lahore
- Branch Network
- 1,533 branches (302 Islamic)
- ATM Network
- 1,699 ATMs
- Employees
- ~12,000+
- Credit Rating
- AAA / A-1+ (PACRA)
- Stock Listing
- PSX: ABL
Because it is regulated by the State Bank of Pakistan like every other scheduled bank, ABL's capital adequacy and governance are subject to the same central-bank oversight described on SBP's own site.
Network figures (1,533 branches, 1,699 ATMs, as of March 31, 2026) confirmed from Allied Bank's 1st Quarterly Report for the period ended March 31, 2026; rating confirmed from PACRA's reaffirmed AAA/A-1+ entity rating for 2025–2026.
History: From Australasia Bank to Allied Bank Limited
Allied Bank traces its roots to 3 December 1942, when it was established in Lahore as Australasia Bank — the first bank founded in what would become Pakistan five years later. In 1974, the bank was nationalized and renamed Allied Bank of Pakistan, absorbing Sarhad Bank, Lahore Commercial Bank, and Pak Bank in the process.
In 1991, Allied Bank became the first Pakistani bank to be privatized, through a management buyout by its own employees under the Allied Management Group — a structure that later proved financially fragile. By 2003 the bank's non-performing loan ratio had climbed to 35.7%, prompting the State Bank of Pakistan to pursue a second, share-issuance-based privatization rather than a straightforward sale. In August 2004, the Ibrahim Group — a textile and energy conglomerate — won the bid and acquired a 75% stake for Rs 14.4 billion, directly recapitalizing the bank. It was rebranded the bank in 2005, making ABL the only Pakistani bank to have gone through privatization twice.
Ownership: Who Owns Allied Bank Limited?
ABL is a subsidiary of the Ibrahim Group, held through Ibrahim Holdings (Private) Limited, the bank's registered parent company. Ibrahim Holdings' stake has grown from the 75% acquired in 2004 to 90.00% of issued shares as of March 31, 2026, largely through bonus share issuances over the years. The Group's other interests include Ibrahim Fibres Limited, one of Pakistan's largest polyester staple fibre and yarn manufacturers.
Current shareholding (90.00%) confirmed from Note 23.2 of Allied Bank's 1st Quarterly Report for the period ended March 31, 2026.
Mohammad Naeem Mukhtar has served as Chairman of Allied Bank's Board of Directors since 2004. He also chairs Ibrahim Fibres Limited and serves as CEO of Ibrahim Holdings, Ibrahim Welfare Foundation, and Ibrahim Agencies. Muhammad Waseem Mukhtar has served as Vice Chairman and board member since 2004 and is CEO of Ibrahim Fibres Limited. Day-to-day management is led by Aizid Razzaq Gill as President and Chief Executive Officer.
Ownership and board details confirmed from Allied Bank's official Board of Directors page (abl.com) and PSX's company profile for ABL.
Leadership
Aizid Razzaq Gill
President & Chief Executive Officer of Allied Bank, responsible for day-to-day operations and strategy execution.
Mohammad Naeem Mukhtar
Chairman of the Board since 2004; also Chairman of Ibrahim Fibres Limited and CEO of Ibrahim Holdings (Private) Limited.
Muhammad Waseem Mukhtar
Vice Chairman and board member since 2004; Chief Executive Officer of Ibrahim Fibres Limited.
Scale and Subsidiaries
the bank operates a network of 1,533 branches (including 302 Islamic banking branches) and 1,699 ATMs across Pakistan. Its Islamic banking division, ABL Aitebar, runs a dedicated network of Islamic branches and windows alongside conventional branches. Its asset management arm, ABL Asset Management Company (ABL Funds), is a wholly owned subsidiary offering mutual funds accessible directly through the myABL app.
Awards & Recognition
Best Bank in Pakistan
FinanceAsia Awards — for the 5th consecutive year as of 2026.
Pakistan's Best Digital Bank
Euromoney, 2024.
Best Domestic Bank of Pakistan
FinanceAsia, 2024.
Seven Awards
Pakistan Digital Awards 2026, for digital transformation and customer-centric innovation.
Awards confirmed from Allied Bank's official homepage and newsroom announcements.
Allied Bank Limited's Regulatory Standing
Like every scheduled bank in Pakistan, ABL is licensed and supervised by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), which sets capital adequacy, liquidity, and consumer-protection requirements the bank must meet. As a listed company, ABL also falls under the disclosure and governance rules enforced by the Pakistan Stock Exchange and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan. This dual oversight — central bank plus securities regulator — is part of why a AAA/A-1+ PACRA rating carries weight: it reflects an assessment made against a well-defined regulatory and reporting framework, not a marketing claim.
How Allied Bank Limited Compares in Scale
With a network of 1,533 branches and roughly 7% of Pakistan's total bank deposits, Allied Bank sits among the country's five to seven largest commercial banks by most standard measures — total assets, branch count, and deposit base — placing it alongside HBL, UBL, National Bank of Pakistan, MCB Bank, and Bank Alfalah in the tier of institutions widely described as Pakistan's "Big Banks." Where ABL stands out is digital banking recognition: Euromoney's "Pakistan's Best Digital Bank" award (2024) and FinanceAsia's "Best Bank in Pakistan" title, held for five consecutive years through 2026, both point to the bank's investment in the myABL platform and related digital products relative to peers of similar size.
Frequently Confused: Allied Bank vs. Similar Names
Because "Allied Bank" is a common name internationally, it's worth being explicit: the bank (ABL) is a Pakistani bank headquartered in Lahore, entirely distinct from Allied Irish Banks, Allied Bank (a former institution in Zimbabwe that lost its license in 2015), or any U.S.-based bank using a similar name. If a search result references a different country's regulator, deposit insurance scheme, or currency, it is not describing ABL.
Good For
- Researching Allied Bank's ownership, leadership, and credit rating before opening an account
- Understanding how ABL compares in scale to Pakistan's other major banks
- Confirming ABL's PSX listing and Ibrahim Group ownership structure
- Getting a fast, sourced answer instead of a marketing summary