Kabeer Naqvi

president and CEO of U Microfinance Bank

Compiled from 1 recorded interview. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Kabeer Naqvi is the President and CEO of U Microfinance Bank Limited. He has said he took over the bank in 2015, when its loan book was 600 million rupees. He has also said the bank now has about 400,000 clients.

Career

Naqvi has said he was working at a bank in 2008. He has said he works at the grassroots level and sees the full spectrum. According to Naqvi, his team travels about 5,000 to 6,000 kilometres by road every quarter. [1]

Growth and branch network

Naqvi has said the bank's loan book grew to about 62 billion rupees and deposits to almost 100 billion rupees. He has said the bank is the largest in its space by brick and mortar presence and the fastest growing for seven years in a row. He has said the bank is seven years old, while two others have been around for more than 20 years. He has said the bank is growing at a compound annual rate of 40 percent. He has also said the bank disbursed 8 billion rupees of loans in the last month. [1]

Naqvi has said the bank has reached 300 branches and plans to reach 400 this year. He has said the bank has been opening 100 branches a year since last year. He has said the bank has the largest brick and mortar network in its space and an Islamic proposition. About 80 of the bank's branches will become Islamic, according to Naqvi. He has said the bank has capped its portfolio at 500 to 700 million in any one place. [1]

Naqvi has said Pakistan has too few brick and mortar branches in remote areas, and that the country could support about 2,000 such branches. He has said the bank follows a strategy of geographical diversification, which he links to risk. He has said the bank expects to reach 100,000 to 300,000 more people next year. He has also said the bank must move on to larger ticket sizes. [1]

Lending

Naqvi has said the bank is mission oriented on the asset side. He has said the bank works heavily in agriculture, including with landless and subsistence farmers, and that it focuses on productive loans rather than consumption loans. According to Naqvi, a relationship officer visits clients at home or on their farm. He has said the bank visits farmers and builds their cash flows manually. [1]

Naqvi has said the bank is working on automating this cash-flow assessment so it can scale. He has said risk parameters do not allow lending where there are no audited statements or salary slips. He has said about 57 percent of the bank's gross loan portfolio is backed by gold, and that because the bank had gold, it could lend five times more. He has also said people in Pakistan save in gold. [1]

Naqvi has said a form said to ask one's husband for permission to take a loan. He has said he topped up women's loans to make them equal to men's. He has said the bank can cover payments but cannot lend above 3 million rupees. He has said percentages matter less than money terms when loan sizes are small, and that nano credit losses will always run higher than other lending. [1]

Funding and finances

Naqvi has said the bank holds about 125 billion rupees in treasury assets. He has said the bank has borrowed over 100 billion rupees from commercial banks through several instruments. He has said 30 to 35 percent of the bank's profitability comes from non-microfinance income. According to Naqvi, the bank's cost of funding has more than doubled, and its margin is about 4 to 4.25 percent in good times. [1]

Naqvi has said the bank's delinquency rate is 3.5 percent, which he calls acceptable. He has also said compliance costs and back-end systems are expensive. [1]

Technology and partnerships

Naqvi has said the bank holds a branchless banking licence and is moving all its clients onto mobile wallets, through USSD or an app. He has said the bank is working with a local university on U-Bot, and that U-Bot gives an immediate approval or rejection for a loan. He has also said the bank could perhaps make 60,000 loans on the same infrastructure without compromising on KYC and AML. [1]

Naqvi has said the bank opens up its APIs and presents its balance sheet and funding. He has said the bank has an innovation lab inside it and works with many startups. He has said the bank was the first to offer insurance for C-section deliveries. He has said he does not want to open an insurance company just to sell insurance to clients. [1]

Regulation and ownership

Naqvi has said microfinance banks were created under a 2001 central bank ordinance. He has said the bank is a microfinance bank, which differs from a commercial bank. He has said the telecom group that owns the bank holds 100 percent of it, and that the bank cannot open branches without the telecom owner's approval. He has said commercial banks treat rural branches as deposit engines, not lending engines. [1]

Naqvi has said microfinance banks are not scheduled banks, and that scheduling would give microfinance banks the facilities they need to scale. He has said the bank wants permission to become a full retail bank. He has said digital banks cannot hold deposits above 500,000 rupees. He has said microfinance banks of this size could exist in Pakistan, as they do in Bangladesh. [1]

Views

Naqvi has said demand for microfinance in Pakistan is very high. He has said, as a practitioner, that microfinance itself has nothing wrong with it. He has said the formal sector should partner with the aarti, who have been embedded for 300 to 400 years. He has said the bank's approach is to give each task to whoever it belongs to, and that the bank wants to stay realistic and relatable to its clients. [1]

Naqvi has said the scale of the problem keeps him awake at night. He has said these initiatives need a national-level effort to reach scale. He has said loan and repayment patterns began to be disrupted about two years ago, and that climate change is real and will be very tough on Pakistan. He has also said the money outside the formal system was 5 to 5.25 trillion rupees in 2015 and is now 9 trillion. [1]

Naqvi has said Pakistan is going through a stressed phase. He has said he expects Pakistan to be one of the prominent nations of the world by 2050, and that Pakistan cannot fail to improve many times over in the next 27 years. [1]

Naqvi has said making money and creating impact are not mutually exclusive. He has said any business that cannot scale wastes time. He has advised starting small but real, then taking it to scale. [1]

Timeline

2008
Working at a bank, according to Naqvi[1]
2015
Took over U Microfinance Bank, when its loan book was 600 million rupees[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2023-06-14 A bank account doesn't change your life Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Kabeer Naqvi?

Kabeer Naqvi is the President and CEO of U Microfinance Bank Limited. He has said he took over the bank in 2015, when its loan book was 600 million rupees.[1]

What does Kabeer Naqvi do?

Kabeer Naqvi is the President and CEO of U Microfinance Bank Limited. He has said the bank has about 400,000 clients. He has also said it has reached 300 branches and plans to reach 400 this year.[1]

Who owns the company Kabeer Naqvi leads?

Kabeer Naqvi is the President and CEO of U Microfinance Bank Limited. He has said the telecom group that owns the bank holds 100 percent of it. He has also said the bank cannot open branches without the telecom owner's approval.[1]

How big is U Microfinance Bank according to Kabeer Naqvi?

Kabeer Naqvi has said the bank's loan book grew to about 62 billion rupees and deposits to almost 100 billion rupees. He has said the bank is growing at a compound annual rate of 40 percent. He has also said it is the largest in its space by brick and mortar presence.[1]

What does Kabeer Naqvi say about lending against gold?

Kabeer Naqvi has said about 57 percent of the bank's gross loan portfolio is backed by gold. He has said that because the bank had gold, it could lend five times more. He has also said people in Pakistan save in gold.[1]

What does Kabeer Naqvi think about Pakistan's future?

Kabeer Naqvi has said he expects Pakistan to be one of the prominent nations of the world by 2050. He has also said Pakistan cannot fail to improve many times over in the next 27 years. He has said Pakistan is going through a stressed phase.[1]

References

  1. A bank account doesn't change your life . Thought Behind Things , 2023-06-14.
Show the source passages (79 statements)
  1. Kabeer Naqvi is President and CEO of U Microfinance Bank Limited. Kabeer Naqvi is the President & CEO at U Microfinance Bank Limited.
  2. Kabeer Naqvi has said he took over the bank in 2015, when its loan book was 600 million rupees. when I took over in 2015, U Bank had a 600 million rupees loan book and 1 billion rupees of deposit
  3. Kabeer Naqvi has said the bank's loan book grew to about 62 billion rupees and deposits to almost 100 billion rupees. Right now in seven and a half years, we are 62 billion in loans from 600 million and we are 100 billion almost in deposits
  4. Kabeer Naqvi has said the bank is the largest in its space by brick and mortar presence and the fastest growing for seven years in a row. we are the largest in our space in terms of brick and mortar presence and we are the fastest growing seventh year in a row
  5. Kabeer Naqvi has said the bank has reached 300 branches and plans to reach 400 this year. hum 300 branches pe ab pahunche hain, is saal inshaAllah taala hum 400 pe ja rahe hain
  6. Kabeer Naqvi has said the bank has been opening 100 branches a year since last year. We are opening 100 branches a year starting last year
  7. Kabeer Naqvi has said Pakistan has too few brick and mortar branches in remote areas. humein lagta hai Pakistan mein door daraz ilaqon mein brick and mortar ki bahut kami hai
  8. Kabeer Naqvi has said the bank is a microfinance bank, which differs from a commercial bank. we are a microfinance bank and a microfinance bank is different from a commercial bank
  9. Kabeer Naqvi has said the bank is mission oriented on the asset side. On the asset side, we are mission oriented.
  10. Kabeer Naqvi has said microfinance banks were created under a 2001 central bank ordinance. Central Bank ne 2001 mein ek naya ordinance banaya aur us ordinance ke tehat microfinance banks wajood mein aaye
  11. Kabeer Naqvi has said risk parameters do not allow lending where there are no audited statements or salary slips. jahan audited statements na ho ya salary slip na ho ja ke loan de do, unke risk parameters allow nahi karte
  12. Kabeer Naqvi has said the bank visits farmers and builds their cash flows manually. Hum jate hain ek hari, ek kisan ki ja ke cash flow banate hain manually
  13. Kabeer Naqvi has said the bank is working on automating this cash-flow assessment so it can scale. hum isko automate kaise kar rahe hain taake hum scale pe ja sakein
  14. Kabeer Naqvi has said about 57 percent of the bank's gross loan portfolio is backed by gold. woh U Bank ki is waqt 57% GLP jo hai, jo loan book hai is backed by actual gold
  15. Kabeer Naqvi has said because the bank had gold, it could lend five times more. So I could lend five times more because I had gold
  16. Kabeer Naqvi has said he topped up women's loans to make them equal to men's. called all the ladies, topped up their loans and made it equal to the men
  17. Kabeer Naqvi has said a form said to ask one's husband for permission to take a loan. Dusra forms pe likha tha apne khawand se puch ke aao ke loan ijazat leke aao
  18. Kabeer Naqvi has said people in Pakistan save in gold. People save in gold in this country
  19. Kabeer Naqvi has said the bank holds about 125 billion rupees in treasury assets. we've got about 125 billion rupees in treasury assets like no other microfinance bank
  20. Kabeer Naqvi has said the bank has borrowed over 100 billion rupees from commercial banks through several instruments. over 100 billion in borrowings from commercial banks through different instruments
  21. Kabeer Naqvi has said 30 to 35 percent of the bank's profitability comes from non-microfinance income. 30 se 35% of profitability is coming from non-microfinance related incomes
  22. Kabeer Naqvi has said the bank is seven years old, while two others have been around for more than 20 years. Both have been around for more than 20 years. We are seven years old.
  23. Kabeer Naqvi has said the bank is growing at a compound annual rate of 40 percent. we are growing at 40% CAGR
  24. Kabeer Naqvi has said the bank has the largest brick and mortar network in its space and an Islamic proposition. our brick and mortar network is the largest and it's increasing and it has Islamic proposition also
  25. Kabeer Naqvi has said about 80 of the bank's branches will become Islamic. hamari mashallah 80 branches Islamic ho jaayengi
  26. Kabeer Naqvi has said the bank has capped its portfolio at 500 to 700 million in any one place. humne apne caps lagaye hain ki yaar 500, 700 million se upar portfolio ek jagah nahi rakhna
  27. Kabeer Naqvi has said the bank follows a strategy of geographical diversification, which he links to risk. So it's a very clear strategy of geographical diversification from a risk perspective also
  28. Kabeer Naqvi has said the telecom group that owns the bank holds 100 percent of it. So I have high respect for the telecom group here jo hamara owner hai aur 100% owner hai Muzamil
  29. Kabeer Naqvi has said the bank cannot open branches without the telecom owner's approval. without their approval I can't open branches
  30. Kabeer Naqvi has said commercial banks treat rural branches as deposit engines, not lending engines. Commercial bank ka rural mein asset engine nahi hai, deposit liability engine hai
  31. Kabeer Naqvi has said Pakistan could support about 2,000 such branches. Pakistan ke andar bilkul 2000 branches khul sakti hain
  32. Kabeer Naqvi has said microfinance banks of this size could exist in Pakistan, as they do in Bangladesh. jab Bangladesh mein ho sakte hain, to Pakistan mein is size ke microfinance banks kyun nahi ho sakte? Bilkul ho sakte hain
  33. Kabeer Naqvi has said the bank wants permission to become a full retail bank. ke hamein allow kiya jaye ke hum full scale real retail banks ban jayein
  34. Kabeer Naqvi has said microfinance banks are not scheduled banks. microfinance banks are not scheduled banks
  35. Kabeer Naqvi has said scheduling would give microfinance banks the facilities they need to scale. If inki scheduling ho jaye, to wo saari cheezein available ho jati hain jo hamein scale pe jane ke liye help karein gi
  36. Kabeer Naqvi has said digital banks cannot hold deposits above 500,000 rupees. digital banks jo hain, wo 5 lakh rupay se zyada ka deposit nahi hold kar sakte
  37. Kabeer Naqvi has said his bank must move on to larger ticket sizes. iske baad yahan se to humne aage jana hai aur humne isse bada ticket size karna hai
  38. Kabeer Naqvi has said a relationship officer visits clients at home or on their farm. Hamara relationship officer jata hai uske ghar pe ya uske farm pe ya uski zameen ke paas
  39. Kabeer Naqvi has said the bank holds a branchless banking licence. branchless banking license holder hain
  40. Kabeer Naqvi has said the bank is moving all its clients onto mobile wallets, through USSD or an app. So we are moving all our clients on to mobile wallets, whether USSD or app based
  41. Kabeer Naqvi has said the bank is working with a local university on U-Bot. And U-Bot jo hai hum we are working with a local university here
  42. Kabeer Naqvi has said U-Bot gives an immediate approval or rejection for a loan. U-Bot uska immediately approval ya rejection deta hai
  43. Kabeer Naqvi has said demand for microfinance in Pakistan is very high. demand to bahut hai Pakistan mein
  44. Kabeer Naqvi has said the bank could perhaps make 60,000 loans on the same infrastructure without compromising on KYC and AML. Hum shayad isi infrastructure se 60,000 loan de dein without compromising on KYC, AML
  45. Kabeer Naqvi has said the bank was the first to offer insurance for C-section deliveries. we were the first ones jinhone C-section ke liye insurance provide ki
  46. Kabeer Naqvi has said the bank has about 400,000 clients. Hamare 4 lakh client hain
  47. Kabeer Naqvi has said the scale of the problem keeps him awake at night. Problem ka size Muzamil itna bada hai that keeps at least I stay up at night
  48. Kabeer Naqvi has said these initiatives need a national-level effort to reach scale. I think we need a national level effort uh to actually take these initiatives to scale
  49. Kabeer Naqvi has said loan and repayment patterns began to be disrupted about two years ago. Hamari loan cycles jo hain, wo disturb hona shuru hui, repayment patterns do saal pehle, bahut zyada
  50. Kabeer Naqvi has said climate change is real and will be very tough on Pakistan. is real and it's going to be very tough on Pakistan
  51. Kabeer Naqvi has said the bank's approach is to give each task to whoever it belongs to. Hum UBank hamesha yeh kehta hai jiska kaam usay saanje
  52. Kabeer Naqvi has said he does not want to open an insurance company just to sell insurance to clients. I don't want to open up an insurance company just to give the insurance products to my clients
  53. Kabeer Naqvi has said the bank opens up its APIs and presents its balance sheet and funding. opens up its APIs and presents its balance sheet and the funding
  54. Kabeer Naqvi has said the bank has an innovation lab inside it. humne apna ek innovation lab banaya hua hai UBank ke andar
  55. Kabeer Naqvi has said the bank works with many startups. bahut saare startups ke saath kaam kar rahe hain as we speak
  56. Kabeer Naqvi has said the bank's cost of funding has more than doubled. Jo hamari cost of funding hai, wo to obviously double se upar jani hi thi aur wo gayi
  57. Kabeer Naqvi has said the bank's margin is about 4 to 4.25 percent in good times. Hamara margin Muzamil 4%, 4.25% hota hai in good times
  58. Kabeer Naqvi has said the bank's delinquency rate is 3.5 percent, which he calls acceptable. The delinquencies are 3.5%, which is acceptable
  59. Kabeer Naqvi has said the bank disbursed 8 billion rupees of loans in the last month. UBank disbursed 8 billion rupees of loans last month only
  60. Kabeer Naqvi has said compliance costs and back-end systems are expensive. Because aapki cost of compliance, aapne bhi Temenos lagana hai, aapne bhi branchless banking ke systems lagane hain, compliance requirement bhi saari wahi hai. Back end is expensive.
  61. Kabeer Naqvi has said percentages matter less than money terms when loan sizes are small. percentages become irrelevant when the loan sizes go down
  62. Kabeer Naqvi has said nano credit losses will always run higher than other lending. nano credits mein I can tell you hum bhi kar rahe hain, loss norm will always be higher
  63. Kabeer Naqvi has said the bank can cover payments but cannot lend above 3 million rupees. payments ke liye toh cover kar sakta hoon but 30 lakh rupay se upar loan nahi de sakta
  64. Kabeer Naqvi has said the formal sector should partner with the aarti, who have been embedded for 300 to 400 years. mere khayal se humein ab formal sector ko aa ke aarti kyunke itna embedded hai 300-400 saalon se idhar, uske saath shayad partner karna hai
  65. Kabeer Naqvi has said, as a practitioner, that microfinance itself has nothing wrong with it. I can tell you as a practitioner, microfinance ke saath there is nothing wrong
  66. Kabeer Naqvi has said Pakistan is going through a stressed phase. Pakistan is going through a stressed phase, but we will all get out of it
  67. Kabeer Naqvi has said the bank wants to stay realistic and relatable to its clients. we want to stay realistic and relatable to our clients
  68. Kabeer Naqvi has said making money and creating impact are not mutually exclusive. yeh bhi mutually exclusive nahi hai. Paise banana aur impact create karna
  69. Kabeer Naqvi has said any business that cannot scale wastes time. Anything which is not scalable, it's going to waste your time
  70. Kabeer Naqvi has advised starting small but real, then taking it to scale. Do something small at a small scale but do it real and then take it to scale
  71. Kabeer Naqvi has said the money outside the formal system was 5 to 5.25 trillion rupees in 2015 and is now 9 trillion. Jab main U-Bank aaya tha 2015 mein to number chalta tha 5, 5.25 arab rupaye trillion rupaye ka outside, ab 9 trillion ka chal raha hai
  72. Kabeer Naqvi has said he expects Pakistan to be one of the prominent nations of the world by 2050. mere hisaab se Pakistan will be uh one of the one of the prominent nations of the world in 2050
  73. Kabeer Naqvi has said Pakistan cannot fail to improve many times over in the next 27 years. aisa ho hi nahi sakta ki Pakistan agle 27 saal mein many folds behtar na ho
  74. Kabeer Naqvi has said his team travels about 5,000 to 6,000 kilometres by road every quarter. the team and I, we do about 5-6,000 kilometers every quarter road pe
  75. Kabeer Naqvi has said he works at the grassroots level and sees the full spectrum. main grass root level pe kaam karta hoon, main saara spectrum dekhta hoon
  76. Kabeer Naqvi has said he was working at a bank in 2008. EasyPaisa when I was in Tameer Bank in 2008
  77. Kabeer Naqvi has said the bank expects to reach 100,000 to 300,000 more people next year. hum agle saal bhi is tarah ek do lakh, teen lakh log aur kar denge
  78. Kabeer Naqvi has said the bank works heavily in agriculture, including with landless and subsistence farmers. hum kyunki agri mein bahut zyada deal karte hain aur hum landless farmer ke saath bhi bahut deal karte hain
  79. Kabeer Naqvi has said the bank focuses on productive loans rather than consumption loans. Aap ki productive use ke liye aap loan de rahe hain, consumption ke liye most part loan nahi de rahe