NA body approves Banking Services Bill 2020

Baqir says changes will make operations of Banking Services Corp smoother

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue passed the Banking Services Amendment Bill 2020 during its session on Monday.

The committee met in Karachi with MNA Faizullah in the chair. Speaking on the occasion, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Dr Reza Baqir considered it a privilege to host the standing committee meeting and discuss issues on the agenda.

The governor briefed the committee on amendments related to the SBP Banking Services Corporation Act desired by the central bank and explained that the changes were needed to make smoother operations of the Banking Services Corporation (BSC). With reference to employment procedure in the National Bank of Pakistan, the SBP governor and Deputy Governor Banking Jameel Ahmad briefed the committee on the fit-and-proper test of the incumbent NBP president.

However, committee members expressed concern over the qualification required for the position and the difference in degrees of the NBP president.

In response, Jameel Ahmad explained that services of NBP President Arif Usmani were recommended because of his vast experience in the banking sector spanning 36 years.

Committee Chairman Faizullah was of the view that the government should have cleared allegations against the NBP president regarding his previous track record when it appointed him as the head of the bank.

Usmani briefed the committee about the hiring of employees in the bank from 2019 to 2020.

He emphasised that the most critical element of any organisation was its people and that was particularly true for a service organisation such as a bank.

A serious gap was identified in the quality of NBP’s senior resources across a variety of disciplines, as evident from a large number of unaddressed audit comments showing a lack of will for resolving them, and repeated breaches, which resulted in recurring losses and lack of public trust, he said.

Usmani added that the recruitment process was undertaken according to policies approved by the existing board and the process for external recruitment.

He informed meeting participants that all senior positions were advertised internally according to rules and internal candidates were assessed and eligible ones were shortlisted in interviews. However, none of them was found to be capable.

The NBP president invited attention of the committee to the accountability process initiated across the board, under which services of two senior executive vice presidents (SEVPs) and five executive vice presidents were terminated in order to make NBP a thriving organisation.

He held the view that the present chain of complaints was a reaction to the disciplinary performance measures being undertaken by the bank.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 1^st, 2020.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.