# Sultan Ali Allana

Sultan Ali Allana (Urdu: سلطان علی الانا) is a prominent Pakistani banker, philanthropist,and business leader. He is also the chairman of Habib Bank Limited and a director of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development.
Sultan Ali Allana is the youngest son of Akbar Ali Allana and Malak Sultan Bandeali, daughter of Gulam Hyder Bandeali Kassam.

## Early life and education

Sultan Ali Allana was born in Karachi into a Sindhi family , in 1959. He attended St. Patrick's High School, and DJ Science College before moving to Canada where he obtained an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering. Subsequently, he attained a postgraduate diploma in Management from McGill University. He then attended the University of Wisconsin, USA, where he obtained an MS in Management Technology.

## Personal life

Allana comes from a prominent Sindhi Ismaili Khoja family which traces its origins from Jhirk, Sindh. His late uncle, Ghulam Ali Allana, was a friend and biographer of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. He entered politics at a young age and played an active part in the Pakistan movement. G. Allana has written several books notably: Quaid-e-Azam; The Story of a Nation, Our Freedom Fighters, Pakistan Movement - Historic Documents, A Rosary of Islamic Readings and His Highness Aga Khan III.

## Career

Mr. Sultan Ali Allana’s illustrious career began at Citi Bank in 1985 as a Relationship Manager Executive Trainee. He rose through the ranks and became the Head of the Local Corporate Group thanks to his unmatched dedication and exceptional mentorship.
Later, he ventured into entrepreneurship, co-founding Global Securities. The company with the help of his exceptional business acumen launched a joint venture with Union Bank of Switzerland, which operated on a massive scale in Hong Kong. Moreover, his innovative spirit turned struggling enterprises into profitable businesses. It also includes the remarkable turnaround of NDLC, which evolved into NIB Bank and ultimately merged into MCB Bank in 2017. As a pioneer in the field of microfinance, Mr. Sultan Ali Allana played a key role in drafting the Microfinance Institutions Ordinance of 2001 and established the First Micro-Finance Bank Limited with the sponsorship of Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED), where he served as a chairman, championing financial inclusion and poverty alleviation.

### Chairman HBL

In 2004, he was appointed as the Chairman of Habib Bank Limited after the intiution's privatization. Mr. Allana has been working in the same capacity since then. With nearly 40 years of experience in the financial and banking industry, Mr. Allana has played a transformative role in positioning HBL as the largest and the leading bank of Pakistan serving over 37 million customers via 1600+ branches throughout the country.

### Achievements

Sultan Ali Allana has had a distinguished career in banking and finance, holding key leadership positions in several reputable institutions. He has also contributed significantly to philanthropic initiatives in Pakistan, focusing on education, health, and social development.
He is currently serving on the Boards of following companies:
* Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development S.A. Switzerland (AKFED) as a Director
* Habib Bank Limited (HBL) as the Chairman
* Alisarda SpA as a Director
* Industrial Promotion Services (Pakistan) Ltd. (IPS) as a Director
* Tourism Promotion Services (Pakistan) Ltd. as a Director

### Published Works

Sultan Ali Allana gives his insightful suggestions related to improving Pakistan's economy.
In 2022, Sultan Ali Allana strongly suggested the government not to borrow more funds and gave his detailed opinion in the article: “Caught in the Debt Trap”.
In 2023, he co-authored the article, Transitioning away from a cash economy.
In 2024, Allana authored an article titled, 'Challenge to The Moral Economy’ where he discussed critical issues affecting Pakistan's financial systems and moral economy.Read the article here.

## Awards

* Sitara-e-Imtiaz – 2005
* Hilal-e-Imtiaz – 2023
* Nishan-e-Khidmat:2024