KARACHI, April 6: The officers and executives of privatized Habib Bank who want to opt for voluntary separation scheme (VSS) will now have a better package than one announced by the bank on March 20. A circular issued by the HBL management to all branch managers says that if total amount of dues of an assistant vice-president or vice-president willing to opt for the VSS is less than Rs1.5 million, the management will pay the difference as special incentive.

The management has worked out different floors in case of officers in various grades i.e. Rs1.3 million for officers grade I; Rs1.1 million for officers grade II; and Rs0.9 million for officers grade III.

Those officers and executives who want to avail of the VSS must submit an option form to the management by April 11, 2005.

The circular says that the VSS package announced last month has been revised on the request of “different quarters” without naming them. The bank claims that the new package would “make it more viable” for its junior executives and officers.

The VSS offered by HBL, more than one year of its privatization, is part of its efforts to cut costs.

At the end of the last year, HBL employed more than 1,300 executives and over 8,500 officers. The total staff cost could not be ascertained but sources in HBL say it was between Rs11-12 billion at the end of 2003 when the total number of employees including executives, officers and clerical and non-clerical staff stood at 18,800.