ISLAMABAD, May 22: The National Bank of Pakistan Retired Executives Forum has expressed concern over the finance ministry’s move to amend the Banks Nationalisation Act 1974 allowing the NBP’s chief executive to continue on this post for indefinite period.

Such a move ran counter to the interests of the reputed financial institutions like the NBP, which already provided two three-year terms for its president, the forum’s president Abdul Hamid Shah Zaman said in a statement issued here on Sunday. He said there was no dearth of competent, experienced and specialists in financial matters who could be entrusted with the responsibilities of president and chief executive of the NBP. The move under way was only aimed at benefiting the incumbent, he added.

“Such proposals if accepted will prove detrimental to the objectives of running banks. There is not a single instance of such nature that lifetime tenure of chief executive is fixed”, he observed.

The banking laws allowed the governor of State Bank of Pakistan to continue on this post only for two tenures each for three years and such practise existed in many countries as well, Mr Zaman said.—Our Reporter