So has the bank experienced any problems? 'There are a few glitches,' said Mazhar, 'but that happens in every case'. There were few significant problems and the bank was able to launch everything on time. 'So far, we are going on schedule.'
Path Solutions did not have a local office in Pakistan at the time (it does now) and this was one thingMazhar would have liked to change. 'They don't have a lot of presence here. They are flying out of Beirut, Kuwait or Dubai to come here and fix our needs.'
One other wishMazhar had of Path and iMAL was to come up with an Islamic credit card solution. Although iMAL did offer such a module,Mazhar was not too happy with it. However, he was not singling out UBL Ameen's new core system provider. 'There is no ideal credit card system in the Islamic banking industry worldwide,' he observed. 'It's not the problem of the vendor or the system provider. It's a problem of the Shari'ah of the Islamic jurisprudence.'
In iMAL,Mazhar and UBL Ameen seem to have found a solution that combines a purpose-built Islamic core banking system with the flexibility, modularity and ease of interface required for the group's anticipated growth. Summing up,Mazhar said: 'I would definitely say that I'm pretty happy'.
