LAHORE, Aug 25: The Allied Bank (ABL) is stubbornly resisting implementation of the decision of the SBP Committee for Resolution of Cases under the State Bank’s circular BPD-29.
In a letter addressed to the SBP, the committee has complained that the ABL has not implemented any of the committee’s decisions nor submitted any compliance report in this regard.
In his letter dated August 21, the committee secretary writes: “We had advised the ABL vide letter (No: MR/191 dated June 18) to furnish us the compliance report concerning implementation of the committee’s decisions on a fortnightly basis. First compliance report as on June 15, 2003 was required to be submitted latest by June 28.”
But the bank has neither implemented the committee’s decisions nor submitted any compliance report in spite of the fact that “as per BPD circular letter (No. 8 dated March 10, 2003), the committee’s decisions are binding on banks and borrowers.”
In his letter, the committee secretary has requested the SBP to “suitably” instruct the ABL in this regard to immediately implement the committee’s decisions and submit compliance report to the committee latest by August 31.
The committee has so far decided six cases pertaining to the ABL between April and July 30. “All these decisions were made after hearing the points of view of borrowers and the bank representatives and in accordance with the guidelines provided by the central bank in its circulars issued since the launch of the (nonperforming) loan write-off scheme. The bank representatives had agreed to implement the decisions as it was binding upon all the banks under the central banks directives,” a committee member told this reporter here on Monday.
At least one of the six cases decided by the central bank’s committee was also restructured by the CORSU (Committee for the Revival of Sick Units) but the ABL went to the court against the decision. Another such case is already pending with the SBP committee for decision.
