Pakistani Banks Lead Asia-Pacific Returns in 2025

Pakistani commercial banks emerged as standout performers in the Asia-Pacific banking sector during 2025, delivering exceptional total shareholder returns according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.

Institutions headquartered in Pakistan secured seven positions among the top 15 Asia-Pacific listed banks (with market capitalisation exceeding US$100 million) ranked by total returns to investors for the calendar year.

Leading the regional ranking was The Bank of Punjab, which generated an impressive 333.8% total return over the period. National Bank of Pakistan followed closely in second position with 301.3% returns, while Askari Bank Limited claimed third place at 194.2%. The Bank of Khyber ranked fourth with 177.4% gains.

United Bank Limited (UBL) occupied seventh position, providing shareholders with 143.7% total returns in 2025. Additional strong showings came from Bank Makramah (tenth, 119.6%) and Faysal Bank (fourteenth, 115.1%).

S&P Global attributed the robust performance to the Pakistan Stock Exchange’s KSE-100 index, which appreciated 51.2% in 2025—marking the third successive year of significant advances—underpinned by strengthening macroeconomic indicators, prudent fiscal management, and a period of relative political stability.

Notably, more than half of the top ten performers in the analysis maintained market capitalisations below US$1.0 billion, highlighting the outsized gains achieved by several mid-tier Pakistani lenders.

In stark contrast, a number of mid-sized Indian banks ranked among the region’s weakest performers in total returns for the same year, with Utkarsh Small Finance Bank Ltd. recording a 48.6% decline, Punjab & Sind Bank a 42.1% drop, and ESAF Small Finance Bank a 36.6% reduction.