KARACHI: Meezan Bank Limited was honoured as the Best Bank of Pakistan for a second year in a row, at the ninth Pakistan Banking Awards, held on Friday. The annual awards ceremony is held to recognise and promote the banking industry in the country, as well as greater financial inclusion for the country’s 240 million people. Before handing out the awards, State Bank Governor Jameel Ahmed, who was the chief guest, expressed satisfaction over the growth of the banking sector, barring some exceptions such as low penetration in the masses and gender equality. Ahmed said that banks needed to support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) for the sake of economic growth, adding that at present, the size of SMEs was less than one per cent of the country’s GDP. He also called on banks to move fast to acquire the latest technology, since the banking landscape had changed. The SBP governor noted that despite shocks, banks had done well over the past year, which had been a great support to the economy. Bank of Punjab, Bank Alfalah claim two awards each While discussing economic growth, debts and banks’ role in the economy, he said financial inclusion should be higher for the banking growth. He also pointed out that the presence of 193 million mobile phones in the country offers a major opportunity for banks to diversify and improve their growth in this direction. Awards were handed out in seven categories. While Meezan Bank claimed the coveted “Best Bank Award” for the second consecutive year, Bank Alfalah and Bank of Punjab led the field with two awards each. Bank Alfalah was awarded ‘Best Bank for Digital Excellence’ and the ‘Best Bank for Customer Engagement’. Meanwhile, Bank of Punjab was recognised as the “Best Bank for Women’s Inclusion” and “Best Bank for Agriculture” in 2024. Habib Bank Limited was awarded “Best Bank for SMEs”, while the Mobilink Microfinance Bank was given the “Best Micro Finance Bank” award. The National Institute of Banking and Finance Pakistan, and A.F. Fergu­son organise the banking awards to en­­courage banks for their efforts to improve growth and support the economy.