INTERNSHIP PROGRESS REPORT

Internship in Agribusiness,
At Habib Bank Limited. July,
2017

By:
Inzamam Ul Hassan Halar 6th
semester
 CONTENTS
1. Internship contact information……………………………………………3

2. Acknowledgment…………………………………………………………4

3. Executive summary……………………………………………………….4

4. Introduction of internship…………………………………………………6

4.1 History of HBL……………………………………………………..6

4.2 About HBL………………………………………………………….7

4.3 HBL rural banking………………………………………………......7

5. Reporting Period…………………………………………………………..8

6. Work Performance and Accomplishment………………………………....8

6.1 HBL RHQ Hyderabad………………………………………………8

6.2 HBL Urban Branch…………………………………………………9

6.3 HBL rural Branch…………………………………………………..9

7. Plan for the rest of the semester…………………………………………..10

8. Relationship between theoretical (academic) and practical (field)……….11

9. Financial Constraints Faced by Farmer…………………………………...11

10. Conclusion…………..……………………………………………………14

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 INTERNSHIP CONTACT INFORMATION
Student Name: Inzamam Ul Hassan Halar

Student I.D.: 143-14-0001

Student Email: Inzamamulhassan123@gmail.com

Contact no.: 03313040834

Internship Organization Name: Habib Bank Limited (HBL)

Mailing Address: HBL HQ, Habib plaza, Karachi.

Internship Supervisor: Mr. Sajid Mehmoud Gill. (RH-RB, Hyderabad).

Internship Supervisor Phone: 0333-2671412

Internship Supervisor Email: N/A

Faculty Sponsor Name: Dr. Waqar Akram

Faculty Sponsor Phone: 0323-9643876

Faculty Sponsor Email: waqar.akram@iba-suk.edu.pk

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 Acknowledgment
The internship opportunity I had at HBL was one of the best journey of life full of learning and
joy. And it was great chance for professional development. Therefore, I think myself a very lucky
guy for getting this opportunity.

Keeping this in mind, I would love to express deepest gratitude and special thanks to the
Coordinator of BBA (Agribusiness) Dr. Waqar Akram who inspite of being busy with his duties,
took time out to hear, guide me and keep me on correct path for efficient learning and exposure
at professional life.

I express my deepest thanks to Mr. Sajid Mehmood Gill who assist me during my internship and
make me aware how to learn more at this prestigious opportunity of internship and I also love to
thanks to Mr. Nazim Ali (Agriculture Finance Officer) at rural branch, who taught me how to
deal with farmers and allow me to identify and observe which type of problems they are facing.

Executive summary
According to “Benjamin franklin “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me
and I learn.”

Spending time at HBL as an internee was one of the best & memorable moments of my life. And
it was one of life changing moments for me, my mind became broad and the path of success became
lucid to me. I actually found myself. It’s a fact that knowledge is a third eye of a human being, I
feel it clearly after this short journey of my life.

Being a student of the agribusiness, it is the most important for me to get the theoretical knowledge
along with the practical. Moreover, we would not get the fruit of our hard work whatever we
learned during academic until and unless it must be applicable in practical environment in other
words we can say like, theoretical knowledge is sufficient for getting excellence in professional
career and experience also matters a lot. Basically, practical environment is a place or situation in
which one can involve themselves in order to polish their skills. For this, Sukkur IBA and
Agriculture University collectively has taken a milestone step to arrange four weeks internship
program at one of the leading institutes of Pakistan Habib bank limited, the sole purpose behind
that the student can get practical exposure of banking sector. I personally believe if a person has
great knowledge about anything, if they don’t apply, it would be worthless. And it was great
opportunity for us to know what we have learned and what is happening practically. HBL is 2nd
ranked in banking sector after National Bank of Pakistan, which claims the highest portfolio in
Agriculture Finance to assist farmer community.

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HBL is a leading bank of Pakistan having 1,700 branches and 2,000 ATMs globally and a customer
base exceeding ten million relationships. With a global presence in over 25 countries spanning
across four continents, HBL is also the largest domestic multinational company.

The internship covers four weeks from July 04, 2017 to July 29, 2017. And starting session was
held at University of Agriculture, Faisalabad at July 04, 2017. Where Sir Imran (Product Manager)
introduced Rural Banking at HBL. On July 06, 2017. I reported five days at RHQ Hyderabad, from
these days two days with Agriculture Finance Officer.

Fortunately, during the internship a meeting was called by Regional Head, in which all the AFO’s
were invited for training regarding rendering services to the clients. As the bank is targeting
farmers--the most neglected people in our society, whereas they are the base of our agriculture and
thus to economy. In order to make them (farmers) aware about the services HBL is providing, RH
wanted to train the AFO’s, so he called a meeting. They also called us (Internees) to join the
meeting. On July 11, 2017, I reported to my designated HBL Urban branch Nawabshah city, where
I spent three working days. On July 18, 2017 I reported to my designated HBL Rural branch Bandi,
where I spent 2 days till July 19, 2017 remaining two days were spent at Sakrand. After completion
of internship I was moved toward my sweet home to prepare internship progress report on July 29,
2017.

The work performed at internship included, reading the Product Paper Manuals (PPM’s), in which
all basic requirement were mentioned. Like, what type of the product and how much loan are
available on that particular product and who have authority to approve it. During the internship at
RHQ the head of rural banking gave us the brief over the process of filling the form to sanction of
the loan. Through the attachment with Regional Head Rural Banking (RHRB) and Agriculture.

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 Introduction of Internship
Internship gives us a broad picture of practical life so that one can able to see where to work for
leading to the success. Internship is a professional apprentice experience which gives the
opportunity to students to gain practical experience in professional environment. It is an
opportunity for those learners who get the knowledge in classroom and apply in practical
environment. An internship gives us practical knowledge where we come to know about
professional life and we come to know how to maximize our relations with people, how to work
actually and what constraint we will be facing while doing a job. It makes us aware about the
dressing style and which skills are required for having a successful career. Actually it gives us an
idea where we stand, what are my strengths and weaknesses and by analyzing we can have our
efficient version. It’s a chance to develop communication and interpersonal skills, to build our
knowledge base about a specific field, and to practice a higher level of responsibility with
confidence. There are a lot obvious advantages of doing an internship under our belt, particularly
in today’s highly competitive job market, where recruiter analyzes from each and every perspective
before hiring a person. Completing an internship not only bolsters our resume, but also allows us
to acquire essential professional skills that will surly help us to succeed in our careers; that gives
us stronger credibility in a job interview; sets us apart from other applicants when it is time to
secure a job; and gives us an opportunity to network and make useful professional connections.

This four weeks internship program covers one day orientation session, then rotation at regional
headquarters, urban branch and rural for four days each level respectively. The purpose of this was
to understand the rural lending process at each level of HBL, Pakistan Rural Banking. This four
weeks internship program was started from July 04, 2017 till July 29, 2017.

Here’s a brief profile of HBL Pakistan along with it history, and HBL Pakistan Rural Banking.

About HBL Pakistan (Source: HBL Pakistan’s website)

HBL was the first commercial bank to be established in Pakistan in 1947. Over the years, HBL has
grown its branch network and maintained its position as the largest private sector bank with over
1,700 branches and 2,000 ATMs globally and a customer base exceeding ten million relationships.

With a global presence in over 25 countries spanning across four continents, HBL is also the largest
domestic multinational. The Bank is expanding its presence in principal international markets
including the UK, UAE, South and Central Asia, Africa and the Far East.

The key areas of operations encompass product offerings and services in Retail and Consumer
Banking. HBL also has the largest Corporate Banking portfolio in the country with an active
Investment Banking arm. SME and Agriculture lending programs and banking services are offered
in urban and rural centers.

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History
Originally established in 1941, HBL moved its operations to Pakistan in 1947 at the request of
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, hence becoming the first commercial bank to lay its foundation in the
country. Embarking on a progressive journey, HBL continued to grow and expand in the successive
years. The Bank's first international branch opened in Colombo, Sri Lanka in 1951, while the
construction of the iconic Habib Bank Plaza was completed in 1972, the year that also marked the
commemoration of HBL's 25th anniversary.

With a sizeable domestic share HBL was nationalized in 1974. The Bank became a trend setter in
the banking industry, acquiring lion's share in inward foreign remittances and a major market share
in loans to small industries, traders and farmers. International operations expanded and HBL now
operates in over 25 countries across four continents

HBL Rural Banking

HBL is one of the few financial institutions which caters to farmers financing need and is playing
a pivotal role in the development of the rural agriculture markets. With the distinction of being the
largest commercial bank in Pakistan, HBL has influenced thousands of lives in the farming
communities across the country and is committed to improving the agricultural sector’s growth.
Through unique product offerings in the market, with the help of a technically skilled sales team
in the field, HBL has been able itself to educate and facilitate its clients and the farming
community. At HBL, loans to farmers are mostly structured on a revolving basis. They (farmers)
are only charged on the amounts utilized, which reduces the burden on them which is called
Agriculture Running Finance and that is actually a uniqueness that segregates HBL from other
organizations in Rural Banking. Furthermore, the repayments are matched with the cropping cycle
and the cash receipts proceed from the crops. This enables the farmers to pay off their debts to the
bank when they have funds available. HBL has also joined hands with the Insurance industry for
launching the Crop Loan Insurance for protecting the borrowers against the losses if incurs on
crops because of any natural disaster or drought like unstoppable rains, floods, diseases etc. In case
of a calamity the farmers’ crops are insured and their losses are adjusted against the insurance
coverage. HBL Rural Banking has provided a viable platform where farmers can able to avail
finances required for their farming needs with the innovative and unique offerings by HBL. With
a complete range of products for its valued customers, HBL provides cutting edge value added
services. HBL facilities are spread across the country and provide financing through more than
800 of their branches. HBL’s presence in all agriculture belts of the country ensures easy access to
farmers in rural areas. HBL Rural Banking provides loans to small-scale land owning farmers as
well as large institutionalized and alliance based finance, enhancing agricultural harvest and, in
turn, economic output of the country. HBL Rural Banking provides wide range of agriculture
loans’ products for Crop Inputs, Farm Implements, Tractors/Agricultural Vehicles, Livestock,

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Poultry, Fish Farming, Group Lending and Tobacco. And another uniqueness at HBL is there is
no limit on the loan. If a famer meets its requirements then they can avail.

Reporting Period
The reporting period was comprised of 4 weeks (including holidays), July 4, 2017, to July 29,
2017. Initially,

I attended the ‘One Day Orientation Session for Internship Program’ at University of Agriculture,
Faisalabad on July 4, 2017. This includes the wide introduction of Banking, HBL Rural Banking,
and Career prospect with HBL. Mr. Imran and Mr. Wajid Nadeem delivered a presentation on
these topics. After the orientation session, I reported to the Regional Headquarters, Hyderabad on
July 6, 2017, at 9 am. I spent a week there, from Thursday, July 6, 2017, to Monday, July 10, 2017,
with Mr. Sajid Mehmood Gill (RHRB). He introduced me the rural products and the managerial
hierarchy of HBL.

After spending the scheduled time in RHQ, RH-RB, and Mr. Sajid Mehmood Gill allowed me to
report to my allocated Urban Branch, Nawabshah. The main objective was to observe the loaning
process. I spent a week there from Tuesday, July 11, 2017, to Monday, July 17, 2017. This week
includes two days training with Agriculture Finance Officers (AFOs) at RHQ, Hyderabad. I was
the part of this training along with my AFOs. Later, I reported to my allocated rural Branch, Bandi.
I worked there for a week from Tuesday, July 18, 2017, to Friday, July 21, 2017, under the
supervision of Mr. Nazim Ali (AFO). He visited to famers with me for the recovery perspective.

Summing all, the total reporting period was 12 working days (3 days at HBL RHQ, 5 days at Urban
Branch and 4 days at Rural Branch) except the training session at Faisalabad. While in the total
reporting period, 5 days for the submission of internship progress report are also included.

Accomplishments and Work Performed.

For a while, it looks like I am an AFO at HBL. But the difference I felt was: I was not limited only
with the work an AFO does but with full of zest I observed and involved in all the work activities
performed in a bank.

At the starting of the internship at HBL RHQ, RH-RB Mr. Sajid Mehmood Gill welcomed me and
my fellows. Initially, I introduced myself and asked the reason for joining hands with this unique
degree. After introduction, Finance Manager, Mr. Imran delivered a very informative lecture on
Finance and Banking. The main topics of lecture was Business Models, Businesses of Banks,
Debits and Credits of Banks and main stakeholders of Banks. Regional Chief (RC) also delivered
a lecture about HBL and recruitment at HBL. Later, RH-RB Mr. Sajid Mehmood Gill delivered a
lecture on current scenario of Agriculture, and Social and Political problems faced by the farmers.

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On the next day, the work assigned to us was reading the PPM thoroughly. These PPM comprise
the requirements for the loans issuance and the lending procedure.

After spending one week at RHQ, I was attached with AFO of Urban Branch. In the Urban branch,
my main task was to understand the day-to-day operations in Branch. Moreover, I also observed
the holistic view of the lending process at Branch. AFO delivered a lecture on complete lending
process and told me the concept of clean up and wright off. I thoroughly observed these things at
Urban Branch and how the work is being taken place. I also filled some (Agriculture Finance
Application for Product) AFAPs at Urban Branch to help my supervisor as his 200 AFAPs were
returned after objections from RHQ. There was 2 days training of AFOs at RHQ. So, I was also
attending that training session at RHQ. Mr. Imran from Headquarters, Lahore trained AFOs about
new policies and improvements in AFAPs.

After the Urban Branch, I reported to the Rural Branch AFO, Mr. Nazim Ali. He assigned me the
task to make relations with farmers. He also assigned me to find out the financial constraints faced
by farmers. He visited many customers and fields to practically show me the field visits and spot
verifications. As he was very experienced. He allowed me to fill some AFAPs and he trained me
how to fill these AFAPs. In addition to this, he taught me the pre-sanction and post-sanction
formalities and told me the complete process of lending. This process starts from the field visits
conducted by an Agriculture Finance Officer (AFO). Later, when farmer approaches Bank or AFO
for a loan, he is asked for an Agriculture Pass

Book as a collateral for the loan. Farmer’s loan file is filled and sent to the RHQ for sanction
advice. After issuance of Sanction Advice, the file is transferred to Credit Administration
Department (CAD) with some important documents. CAD keeps this file and Issues ZIQ a report
generated on the basis of Loan file for the issuance of loan) and transfers this ZIQ to the Credit
Agriculture Processing Unit (CAPU) for the issuance of the loan to the farmer. In this way, the
loan is issued to the farmer. It officially takes 15 days and practically takes 2 months. AFO also
taught me some new concepts and assigned a task to calculate these from the AFAPs. These
concepts were:

RACs = Risk Acceptance Criteria.

DBR = Debt Burden Ratio.
DPDs = Days Past Dues.
BPS = Basic Point Scale.
Loan to Value = Loan amount/Collateral amount.
Debt to Equity Ratio = not more than 50%.

Life Lessons: I also met with Branch Manager of Rural Branch. He taught me how to work on
MISYS, a computerized software of Bank. He told me about the KIBOR and Markup calculations.
I were very glad to meet him, so, he gave a lecture on practical life and reality of life. He suggested
me some professions as an employee and guided me about future. It was a very good experience
to work with him.

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Plans for the Rest of the Semester
Planning always remains helpful for me & I also believe as Alan Lakein says Planning is actually
bringing future into present so that we can do something about it. In addition, nothing is perfect in
this world, there is always need for improvement. This internship journey filled my heart with full
of hope and motivation to go for improvements and made me think to do something unique that
makes me apart from the crowd.

This journey opened my eyes and I personally observed that there is a huge gap between practical
and theoretical practices. I felt many weaknesses by doing work at practical environment. We just
study for the sake of passing the exams, after passing exams we commonly forget many concepts.
But in a practical environment, I found many flaws in my personality like communication skills,
interpersonal skills which are needed for the excellence in the professional life.

As we know, our formal semester has been frozen for our unique six-month internship program.
So, I will try to fill these flaws of communication and interpersonal skills in the next sector of our
internship. During internship, I not only found the weaknesses I have but I found many strengths
of mine like I have good computer skills, written power, better comprehension, which can cover
my weaknesses. So, I will try to polish these strengths more in coming semesters.

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Relationship with Academic Experience:
There is no concept of Cetrus Peribus in real life. Theoretically, we studied ideal condition but
practical life is dynamic. This era is Technological era. New Technology has changed whole the
scenario more than expected. No one knows where we will lie after 10 years. Change is become
an integral part for the survival in the market.

Though the practical life is very different from bookish language but practical life is based on the
policies and the procedures written in the books. The theories that I read in the course, Principle
of Management were being applied there. The plans and goals were made SMART as we have
studied. For Top management, Strategic goals were made, for middle management Tactical goals
were made and for lower or front line management Operational goals were made as written in the
book. For the motivation of employees, Reinforcement Theory was being applied. Also, HBL was
organizing their assets and they have an effective Problem Solving and Controlling Process as we
have read in the theory.

I also worked on the Accounting software named MISYS about which I read in my academic
career. For the assets management, they were using the concepts of Economics, and Business
Communication for customer dealing. In Business Communication, I read that Memorandum and
letters are used for internal and external communication respectively. At HBL, I saw these
practically. In addition to this, there were many theories being applied there that I read in the
agriculture courses at University of Agriculture, Faisalabad. I watched all the practices taken by a
farmer from sowing till harvesting that I read in the course named Agronomy.

I also met a person from Agriculture Extension Department. He was appointed by Government to
train farmers. He told me that this department is almost inactive as I read in course AKIS. So, there
is a lot of need to activate this department.

Summing all, during the internship I was trying to connect everything with the academic theories
and policies. In many cases, I got clear relation and watched being applied. At the end, I found that
bookish theories are the basics of practical life. All the things we read were applied but somehow
different. Because in real world nothing is constant as we study in theories. Moreover, it was a
great opportunity for me and for my fellows to learn how to learn in professional life and we
learned a lot.

Financial Constraints Faced by Farmers:

Farmers are the backbone of Pakistan. The government of Pakistan is trying to facilitate them as
could as possible. But the problems are in large number and the frequency for solve them is very
low. During the internship, I interviewed many farmers. I found that everyone is facing problems.
Financial problem is the major one. A farmer needs finance at the time of sowing and for daily
needs. But the finance is available only at the time of harvesting. Not only this but middle man

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(Agent or Arhati) has a major influence on it. HBL claims that out of 8 million farmers only 2.2
million farmers are their clients. It means remaining 5.8 are middle men who charge even more
than 100% markup than banks.

Banks are cruel in their business. They need profit and they avoid loss. So, banks have made the
loaning process very complicated but legal. A farmer approaches bank when he needs cash
immediately but due to the long legal process, he receives cash almost after 2 to 3 months. It delays
the sowing of crops and thus farmer faces pest attack and low market value of the crop. At the end,
the farmer is unable to deposit the loan and clean up his account.

I was very enthusiastic to find out the actual problems and the solutions. So, for this, I met 3 farmers
with the same above-mentioned story and almost every farmer was claiming that bank has a very
complicated process for loans. The bank must make it easier so that we can easily get loans. On
the other hand, when I discussed the same problem with my AFO and TL, he showed me the actual
face of the picture. He argued that farmer has a lack of planning skills. HBL has made their loaning
process complicated. Because sometime ago they faced few fraud incidents from which they made
new policies for their surety that we will not be getting any loss. He (AFO) also showed me the
cases of fake Agriculture Pass Book submitted by farmers as a collateral. He also told me that
situations are different in Sindh. Farmers think that lent amount belongs to them and they can
spend it anywhere apart from agriculture that leads them in a problematic situation in future.

Another farmer I met was facing the problem with markup. He told me that bank charges less
markup than Arhati but charges at the end of the lending period. On the other hand, when I
discussed this problem with AFO and TL, he told me that this is not the actual situation. Bank
charge markup based on harvesting of crops means markup is charged one month after the
harvesting of the crop so farmer may come up with the financial problems and easily deposits his
charged markup.

Problems with Farmers

I observed a lot of financial problems which farmers face. I will try to describe these problems in
a very few lines.

Firstly, farmers have not any awareness about how they can cater their financial needs, because of
this, they are bound to take loans from local financers at very huge mark-up charge up to 100%
and even 150%.

Secondly, they don’t take loans from the banks because banks want all legal requirements which
can be fulfilled with Mukhtiarkar, but farmers face many problems not in the bank procedure but
in the government procedure, because government officials demand high bribes against doing legal
formalities. I personally talked with a farmer, who said, “I am a banana grower, I needed the credit
at the point of sowing banana orchard, I applied at the HBL for getting loan, HBL application
formalities were fulfilled in few hours but when I went to Mukhtiarkar for getting approval of

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some legal formalities, they demand high bribe, and even after taking bribe they have taken three
months, but now I have not need of credit as much as I was needed at the time of sowing”.

Thirdly, farmers have not awareness about innovative farming techniques, marketing and
management of their crop surplus, because the Sindh’s extension department is not alive and
willing to work.

Fourthly, farmers aren’t being supported from the government at any time in their farming.

Fifthly, the big land holders capture all the resources provided by the government, and these
resources are not reaching to small land holders, however our 80% farmers have small lands less
than 12.5 acres.

Lastly, I observed that the farmers who avail the financing service from banks. They don’t utilize
it in a proper manner, even they don’t use their credited amount to their farming operation but use
to fulfil other needs also which creates trouble in paying back the money.

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Conclusion

I can honestly say that my time spent as an internee at HBL resulted one of the best summers of
my life. Not only I got practical skills, but I also got an opportunity to meet many fantastic people
over there. The atmosphere at the bank was always welcoming which made me feel right at home.
Additionally, I felt like I was able to contribute to the company by assisting and working on
projects throughout the summer. I assisted one of the partners with several PowerPoint
presentations and typing the letter for clients of the bank. This internship was important for me to
introduce myself into the market. It was a great experience to be the part of HBL as an intern. After
doing an internship in Rural Banking, I’m able to understand the financial conditions of farmers
and landlords. It was the real-life experience meeting with different officers and learning different
perspectives of dealing with different type of clients. It has enabled me to make personal relations
with the people working in the field. These relations will help me when I shall enter into the market
after graduation. During the internship, I not only interacted with the AFOs and farmers but also
with the Branch Manager and Area Manager. They taught me the lesson of life, truths of life and
advised me about my future career at HBL. This was the unique experience for me to spend a day
with highly qualified and experienced people. In this period, I learned the public dealing and
acquired much experience. I also realized that dealing with customers, landlords and farmers is not
much easy, it needs skills and experience to face the people. This internship helped me in learning
these skills and has given me most of the overview of practical life. I think that the advice of BM
and AM would help me in deciding my future at HBL. During the internship, I realized that life at
HBL is very harsh, you even have to work in holidays. So, I think that job at HBL is not much
easy. Overall, my internship at HBL bank has been a success. I was able to gain practical skills,
work in a fantastic environment, and make connections that will last a lifetime.

The End

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