In contravention of Supreme Court’s clear directives, the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) plans to re-hire on contract around a dozen of its officers who are going to retire in coming months, well-placed bank sources told Online.
The bank’s newly constituted Board of Directors (BoD), according to the sources, has given a go-ahead to the said officers who are about to retire after completing 60-year age limit, vis-à-vis their re-employment.
Not only the Supreme Court which has already banned the re-hiring of retired officers on contract, but Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is also clear on the issue, however, the NBP BoD apparently considers itself an independent body, and above the government’s designated service rules and regulations.
One of the officers, who are supposed to be re-hired, is allegedly involved in famous “Bangladesh scam” causing a loss of Rs 12 billion to the bank, the sources added.
An inquiry into the scams, wherein out of proportion loans were lent and later written off by the two NBP branches and other massive corruptions, is being conducted by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the FIA against one of the said officer.
The newly-appointed administration of the bank has planned to restructure the organisation and put it on the road to success with new ideas and bold decisions, which does not seem possible with old hawks sitting on major positions controlling the affairs.
Due to corruption and unethical behaviour, the NBP has incurred a massive decline in its profits that plunged in recent years from Rs 27 billion to Rs 19 billion to Rs 16 billion and touched all-time low of Rs 5.5 billion in 2013, the sources added. So, the NBP has planned to re-employ the same old pundits responsible for this major loss to a big national organisation. This sharp decline in the profit has ultimately affected the bank employees in financial terms as their annual bonuses depended on annual profits, sources maintained.