Irfan Siddiqui

Founding President & Chief Executive Officer of Meezan Bank, Irfan Siddiqui initiated the formation of Al-Meezan Investment Bank in 1997, which converted into a full-fledged scheduled Islamic commercial bank in May 2002. This was the first ever license to be given for Islamic Commercial Banking in Pakistan. Meezan Bank is now the largest Islamic Commercial Bank in Pakistan.

Irfan Siddiqui is a Chartered Accountant from England & Wales and has extensive financial sector experience with Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Abu Dhabi Investment Company, Kuwait Investment Authority and Pakistan Kuwait Investment Company (Pvt.) Ltd. Mr Siddiqui is a member of State Bank of Pakistan's Steering Committee of Media Campaign - Improving Islamic finance literacy - in the country and Government of Pakistan's Steering Committee for Promotion of Islamic Banking in Pakistan.

Formerly, he has served as Director of Pak Kuwait Takaful Co. Ltd, The General Tyre & Rubber Company of Pakistan Ltd, Plexus (Pvt.) Ltd, Al Meezan Mutual Fund Ltd, Al Meezan Investment Management Ltd and FFC-Jordan Fertilizers Company Limited.

Meezan Bank began operations as Al Meezan Investment Bank, a joint-venture between Pak Kuwait Investment Company and Islamic Investment of the Gulf (the former Investment Banking arm of the Dar ul Maal Islami Group) in October 1997. In 2002, the Bank acquired the Pakistan operations of Societe Generale and concurrently converted itself into a full-fledged scheduled Islamic commercial bank. At that time, the Bank was issued the first-ever Islamic commercial banking license by the State Bank of Pakistan and renamed Meezan Bank.

Meezan Bank is the first and largest Islamic bank in Pakistan with a branch network of over 220 branches in over 60 cities. It had a deposit figure of Rs. 131 billion and Import/Export business of Rs. 143 billion at the end of 2010.