BOP vs HabibMetro vs Askari vs ABL vs SCB: Bank Stocks 2026
On 2 November 2026 prices, Bank of Punjab (BOP) scores best of these five banks: the lowest P/E at 5.1 times and the fastest growth, with EPS up 24% in 9M 2026. HabibMetro yields the most (12.7%) but its profit fell 19%. Allied Bank is cheapest on book value, and Standard Chartered earns the highest ROE but costs the most.
Key takeaways
- Bank of Punjab scores 12 on our five-measure scorecard (lower is better), ahead of HabibMetro on 13, Allied Bank on 15, Askari on 17 and Standard Chartered on 18.
- Bank of Punjab's profit rose 23% to Rs 14.26 billion in 9M 2026 as net interest income grew 19%, but it declared only one dividend, Rs 1.50, in the last twelve months.
- HabibMetro pays Rs 2.50 every quarter, a 12.7% trailing yield, but its profit fell 19% as net interest income shrank 12%.
- Allied Bank trades at 0.74 times book value and pays Rs 4 every quarter; its profit fell 13% because last year's Rs 4.30 billion release of provisions did not repeat.
- Standard Chartered has the highest ROE (21.7%), but its profit fell 21% and it paid out 96% of its trailing earnings.
PSX retail investor
M Zubair is a retail investor on the Pakistan Stock Exchange. He writes SeekhKar's guides to explain the basics of investing, such as reading annual reports, P/E ratios, dividends and valuation, in simple language for new PSX investors. Everything here is for learning, not investment advice.
BOP vs HMB vs AKBL vs ABL vs SCBPL: Valuation at a Glance
Bank of Punjab (BOP), Habib Metropolitan Bank (HMB), Askari Bank (AKBL), Allied Bank (ABL) and Standard Chartered Bank Pakistan (SCBPL) are five mid-size banks in the KSE-100 index. All end their year on 31 December, so their results for the nine months to 30 September 2026 (9M 2026) cover the same period. Prices are PSX closing prices on 2 November 2026.
Earnings are trailing twelve months (TTM): 9M 2026 EPS plus the fourth quarter of 2025. Dividends are those declared during 9M 2026 plus the final dividend for 2025.
| Metric | BOP | HMB | AKBL | ABL | SCBPL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Share price, 2 Nov 2026 | Rs 28.10 | Rs 94.21 | Rs 105.84 | Rs 170.22 | Rs 55.63 |
| Market capitalisation | Rs 92 bn | Rs 99 bn | Rs 153 bn | Rs 195 bn | Rs 215 bn |
| EPS, 9M 2026 | Rs 4.37 | Rs 13.07 | Rs 14.14 | Rs 20.38 | Rs 4.62 |
| EPS, TTM | Rs 5.56 | Rs 18.26 | Rs 17.43 | Rs 28.70 | Rs 6.23 |
| P/E, TTM | 5.1x | 5.2x | 6.1x | 5.9x | 8.9x |
| Book value per share, 30 Jun 2026 | Rs 31.48 | Rs 120.58 | Rs 104.67 | Rs 230.26 | Rs 28.67 |
| P/B | 0.89x | 0.78x | 1.01x | 0.74x | 1.94x |
| ROE (TTM EPS ÷ book value) | 17.7% | 15.1% | 16.7% | 12.5% | 21.7% |
| Dividend per share, TTM | Rs 1.50 | Rs 12.00 | Rs 7.75 | Rs 16.00 | Rs 6.00 |
| Dividend yield | 5.3% | 12.7% | 7.3% | 9.4% | 10.8% |
| EPS growth, 9M 2026 vs 9M 2025 | +24.1% | −20.5% | +12.6% | −12.9% | −20.6% |
All earnings are consolidated where the bank reports a group. Book values are from S&P Global data at 30 June 2026.
Which Bank Stock Is Cheapest?
Bank of Punjab and HabibMetro on earnings, Allied Bank on book value. Bank of Punjab trades at 5.1 times trailing earnings and HabibMetro at 5.2 times. Allied Bank is the cheapest on book value at 0.74 times, followed by HabibMetro at 0.78. Three trade below their book value, and Askari at about its book value.
Standard Chartered is the exception at 8.9 times earnings and 1.94 times book. It earns the highest return on its book, a 21.7% ROE, and for a bank P/B divided by ROE gives the P/E, so part of that premium is paid for by returns. Allied Bank's low P/B goes with the lowest ROE of the five, 12.5%. Our guide to P/E ratios by sector explains why banks trade on lower multiples than most sectors.
9M 2026 Results: Two Grew, Three Shrank
| Bank | Profit after tax, 9M 2026 | 9M 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allied Bank | Rs 23.34 bn | Rs 26.81 bn | −13% |
| Askari Bank | Rs 20.49 bn | Rs 18.20 bn | +13% |
| Standard Chartered | Rs 17.87 bn | Rs 22.55 bn | −21% |
| HabibMetro | Rs 14.31 bn | Rs 17.76 bn | −19% |
| Bank of Punjab | Rs 14.26 bn | Rs 11.60 bn | +23% |
- Bank of Punjab: net interest income rose 19% to Rs 69.48 billion and fees rose 40% to Rs 14 billion. It lost Rs 531 million on securities, against a Rs 3.61 billion gain a year earlier, and expenses rose 19%.
- Askari Bank: non-markup income rose 48%, with foreign exchange income up 106%, and it released Rs 1.80 billion of provisions. Expenses rose 39%, so profit before tax was flat; a lower tax charge lifted profit after tax.
- Allied Bank: net interest income rose 1.7%, but a year earlier it had released Rs 4.30 billion of provisions, and this year it booked a small charge. Expenses rose 14%.
- HabibMetro: net interest income fell 12% to Rs 46.13 billion and expenses rose 15%.
- Standard Chartered: net interest income fell 15% to Rs 40.61 billion and non-markup income fell 18%. Expenses were flat.
Which Pays the Higher Dividend?
| Bank | Declared, 9M 2026 | Final for 2025 | TTM dividend | Yield after 15% tax | Payout of TTM EPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HabibMetro | Rs 7.50 | Rs 4.50 | Rs 12.00 | 10.8% | 66% |
| Standard Chartered | Rs 3.00 | Rs 3.00 | Rs 6.00 | 9.2% | 96% |
| Allied Bank | Rs 12.00 | Rs 4.00 | Rs 16.00 | 8.0% | 56% |
| Askari Bank | Rs 6.00 | Rs 1.75 | Rs 7.75 | 6.2% | 44% |
| Bank of Punjab | None | Rs 1.50 | Rs 1.50 | 4.5% | 27% |
For regular income, HabibMetro and Allied Bank. HabibMetro declares Rs 2.50 every quarter and Allied Bank Rs 4. At 2 November prices, Rs 100,000 in HabibMetro would have earned about Rs 10,800 over the last year after the 15% withholding tax for filers. With its profit down 19%, though, HabibMetro's payout has risen to 66% of earnings.
Standard Chartered pays twice a year and already pays out 96% of its earnings, so its dividend has little room to grow while profit falls. Bank of Punjab has declared nothing in 2026 beyond its final for 2025, and keeps most of its profit. Our guide to dividend investing in Pakistan explains how to check whether a payout can last.
Scorecard: Which Bank Stock Looks Best Value?
We ranked the five banks from 1 (best) to 5 on the same five measures as our other bank comparisons, with equal weight. A lower total is better.
| Bank | P/E | P/B | Dividend yield | ROE | EPS growth | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank of Punjab | 1 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 12 |
| HabibMetro | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 13 |
| Allied Bank | 3 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 15 |
| Askari Bank | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 17 |
| Standard Chartered | 5 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 18 |
- Growth at a low price: Bank of Punjab. The lowest P/E and the fastest growth. The risk is a low dividend and a loss on securities this year.
- Income: HabibMetro. The highest yield and a low P/B. The risk is shrinking interest income.
- Book value and steady payouts: Allied Bank. The lowest P/B and Rs 4 every quarter, but the lowest ROE.
- Quality at a price: Standard Chartered. The highest ROE, but the most expensive, with falling profit and a 96% payout.
The larger banks are in our UBL, Meezan, HBL and MCB comparison and our Bank AL Habib, NBP, Bank Alfalah and Faysal comparison, and our banking sector guide lists the other numbers to check. This comparison is educational and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any stock. Prices change daily, and we update these figures after each quarterly result.