Agha Hasan Abedi: The Urban Legend of Pakistan’s Banking Industry

I think the current generation is likely clueless when it comes to the financial banking firm Bank of Credit and Commerce (BCCI) and its founder, Agha Hasan Abedi. You see, during the mid-20th century, a Pakistani-based corporation held a significant influence within the global banking industry. Yes, BCCI played a significant role; it was the 7th largest private banking organization in the world at its peak. Agha Hassan Abedi was one of the first few Pakistanis to ever put a Pakistani-based private corporation on the global stage, and he was a key player in introducing a large number of Pakistanis into the world of international banking.

Born in Lucknow, British India, Agha Hasan Abedi belonged to a Muhajir middle-class family who worked as courtiers and advisors to the Nawab of Awadh. He attended Lucknow University to earn his law degree as well as his master’s in English literature. Following Pakistan’s independence in 1947, Abedi immigrated to the young, established nation. Agha Hassan Abedi envisioned BCCI as a global financial corporation with main offices in Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi, and the city of London. Earlier in history, he served as president and was also the founder of the United Bank Ltd. of Pakistan, which is now based in Karachi and is one of the largest banks in the private sector, having over 1390 branches nationwide. Agha Hassan was instrumental in making BCCI into a global financial corporation.

A decade after opening, the banking firm had over 400 branches in 78 countries and assets in excess of $20 billion. Abedi was the first to introduce the concept of personalized service and banking support to businesses involved in various trades and industries; he also pioneered the concept of close economic collaboration between the private sectors of different nations. He played a major role in establishing a collaborative setup between the private sector of Pakistan and the UAE, which was witnessing a recent economic boom because of oil extraction and production. Under Abedi’s leadership, BCCI at one point had about 1.3 million depositors, a major achievement for a bank that started operations from a two-room head office in London, which later evolved into a corporation with a workforce of 16,000 employees.

Abedi personally committed himself to introducing Pakistanis to the field of international banking, where almost 80% of the top executive positions at BCCI were held by people from Pakistan. Many international observers saw a banking firm financially backed by the Arabs in the Middle East and operated by Pakistanis from South Asia.

Even though BCCI later suffered from multiple controversies and legal issues, it still left a mark on the global financial industry, where Pakistanis still manage to play a major role in various executive positions in many international banking firms. In the power structures of global capital markets such as New York and London, Pakistanis are not the underrepresented class, where Pakistani-origin individuals are still operating at almost every level of every major global financial institution. Such representation was only achievable due to the contributions of Agha Hassan Abedi, who paved the way for Pakistanis in the global financial market. For the international community, Agha Hassan Abedi is a controversial figure, but for many Pakistanis, especially those operating within the financial market, Agha Hassan is an inspiration and an individual who has made significant contributions to various health and educational institutions, including the establishment of the Infaq Foundation, contributing to the development of FAST University, and also GIKI. Hopefully, his goals and ambitions will act as inspiration for many Pakistani bankers and financial experts, with the hopes of making Pakistan again a significant player in the global financial market.