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By Zunairah Qureshi
f a ‘bank’ created for ‘women’, fails to either serve women, or function as a viable commercial bank, then why should it exist? That is the dilemma that the First Women Bank Limited (FWBL) faces today. Founded in 1989 under the patronage of then Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, the
BANKING
charter drawn for the bank stated that it will be ‘undertaking the conduct of all forms of business of Banking Company in a manner designed to meet the special needs of women and to encourage and assist them in promotion and running of trade and industry and practice of profession.’ And alongside its unique charter, the bank also has to make money, just like any other commercial bank. That is the problem: FWBL has strug-
gled to survive as a viable commercial bank. Talks to privatise the bank have been on the table at least four times: in 1994, in 1996, in 2018 and most recently in 2021. In the latest update, the deadline has now been pushed to December 2022. So what gives? The Privatisation Commission (PC) spokesperson told Profit that because the label of ‘women’ was attached to the project, it was deemed too risky to close
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