5 leading bankers' 'no' to head BoP

LAHORE- Five leading bankers have categorically rejected the Punjab govt's offer to become the President of Bank of Punjab (BoP), after its former President Hamesh Khan was sacked as the State Bank of Pakistan had reservations about his appointment since he took the charge of his office, well-placed sources disclosed on Friday.

According to the sources, these professional bankers rejected the Punjab govt's offer due to the present political scenario in the Punjab.

'We do not want to face the irrelevant legal and financial audits therefore, we have rejected the offer of the Punjab govt because we are already leading the country's top financial institutions in a peaceful working atmosphere',  a senior banker disclosed to this reporter, requesting his identity should not be mentioned.

The top provincial hierarchy contacted the heads of five private banks one by one but they rejected the offer, considering the position as a tough task under the present situation, the sources added.

The sources believed that the Punjab govt is facing severe problems to fill the vacant post of the President of the Bank of Punjab, as most of the professional bankers are unwilling to join this bank. At present, a junior officer of the Bank of Punjab is working as its acting President, the sources maintained.

The sources further revealed that according to the rules and regulation, the Chief Minister Punjab had to appoint a professional banker on the top post of the President of the Bank of Punjab in consultation with the State Bank of Pakistan and the govt cannot appoint any bureaucrat on this position.  

The sources in the Punjab govt further said that Hamesh Khan had 13 years experience and was the head of a section of a bank when he was appointed as President of the Bank of Punjab by the former Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi.

The State Bank of Pakistan had expressed its reservations over his appointment because Hamesh Khan was not fulfilling the required criteria.

The Chief Secretary Punjab presently is also the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Bank of Punjab therefore the top professional bankers are reluctant to work under him owing to the present political situation in the province, the sources added.

The Punjab govt had sacked the Bank of Punjab President Hamesh Khan and dissolved the Bank's Board of Governors on the charges of corruption and irregularities and decided to carry out the complete legal and financial audit of the bank before June 30.

It is important to mention here that the former top management of the Bank of Punjab had sanctioned loans worth over Rs 13 billion to Harris Steel Mills without fulfilling the legal requirements. These loans were sanctioned on suspicious documents and guarantees. The State Bank of Pakistan and Punjab govt pointed out these irregularities and informed the Punjab govt in this regard.

Ashraf Javed