The National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) was established in 1949 under the National Bank of Pakistan Ordinance as a government-owned bank. Initially, NBP functioned as an agent of the central bank in areas where the
State Bank of Pakistan did not have branches and managed government treasury operations. The bank's first branches were situated in the jute-growing regions of
East Pakistan, followed by offices in
Karachi and
Lahore. In 1950, NBP expanded internationally by opening a branch in
Jeddah,
Saudi Arabia. By 1955, the bank had established additional branches in
London and
Calcutta. Further international expansion included the establishment of a branch in
Baghdad,
Iraq, in 1957 and in
Dar es Salaam,
Tanganyika, in 1962. In 1964, a branch was opened in the United States. Geopolitical events impacted NBP's overseas operations during this period. In 1964, the
Iraqi government nationalised NBP's Baghdad branch. The outbreak of hostilities between India and Pakistan in 1965 led the
Indian government to seize the Calcutta branch. In 1967, the
Tanzanian government nationalised the Dar es Salaam branch. In 1971, NBP acquired two branches of the
Bank of China in
Karachi and
Chittagong. The separation of East Pakistan resulted in the loss of NBP's branches in that region. Subsequently, NBP merged with Eastern Mercantile Bank and Eastern Bank Corporation. In 1974, the
government of Pakistan nationalised NBP, and as part of the consolidation of the banking sector, NBP acquired the
Bank of Bahawalpur. The bank continued its international operations by opening an offshore branch in
Cairo in 1977. In 1994, NBP amalgamated Mehran Bank, and in 1997, it commenced operations of a branch in
Ashgabat,
Turkmenistan. In 2000, NBP opened a representative office in
Almaty,
Kazakhstan. In 2001, the State Bank of Pakistan and the
Bank of England permitted only two Pakistani banks to operate in the
United Kingdom. As a result, NBP and
United Bank Limited merged their UK operations to form Pakistan International Bank, with NBP holding a 45% stake and United Bank owning 55%. In 2002, Pakistan International Bank was renamed United National Bank Limited (UNB), maintaining the same ownership structure. Following its
privatisation in Pakistan, UNB was owned 49% by the government of Pakistan and 51% by a joint foreign consortium from Abu Dhabi. During this period, NBP underwent partial privatisation and the government of Pakistan sold 23.2 percent share through
initial public offering on the
Karachi Stock Exchange. In 2003, NBP opened a branch in
Kabul,
Afghanistan, where the first ATM in the country was installed. The offshore branch in Cairo was closed in 2005. In 2010, NBP opened a branch in
Karaganda,
Kazakhstan, and in 2011, it established a representative office in
Toronto,
Canada. == Presidents ==