NBP president dispels impression that depositors were increasingly withdrawing cash from the banks in wake of SBP’s moratorium on KASB Bank
The National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), which has embarked on an aggressive plan to roll out at least 1,000 automated teller machines (ATMs) by the end of 2015, said Tuesday that the country’s heavily-regulated banking system was standing on a strong footings.
The statement was made by NBP President and Chief Executive Officer Syed Ahmed Iqbal Ashraf while responding to media queries during the “Signing Ceremony of 250 ATM Project” held at a local hotel Tuesday.
The agreement was inked by Logistic Security Support and Engineering Group of NBP SEVP Zubair Ahmed and President TouchPoint Veqarul Islam.
To a question on the imposition of moratorium on KASB Bank, the NBP president said the country’s banking system was safe and heavily-regulated. This, he said, was despite the fact that some of the smaller banks were facing the challenge of Capital Adequacy Ratio.
“People have got some anxiety but not that much,” he added. He dispelled the impression that depositors were increasingly withdrawing cash from the banks, specially the smaller ones, in the wake of State Bank’s moratorium on the KASB Bank.
“The withdrawals are not in size that is worrisome,” Ashraf said.
Earlier in his address, the NBP president said, “National Bank of Pakistan will bring convenience to its customers by offering them self-service facilities to perform their hassle-free transactions round-the-clock across Pakistan.” He said that the NBP team was committed to bring the best services to the customers.
Currently, he said, NBP had 376 ATMs countrywide and with this new addition the total installed base of ATMs shall be 626. NBP payment processing was powered by world renowned payment processing software ITM of Euronet.
TouchPoint President Veqarul Islam, an exclusive distributor of Diebold Inc. in Pakistan, said that it was an honour to partner with the NBP in deploying 250 ATMs across Pakistan.
“I am delighted to sign this agreement with the National Bank which is the country’s largest customer-friendly bank,” the president said. He said TouchPoint was established seven years ago by his late brother, Badrul Islam, with a vision to become a local IT company that followed international standards. “Today, we have turned a significant page in transforming this company,” said Islam.
