THIS refers to the write-up ‘Bank treasurer: the keeper of the temple’ (April 11). The situationer, it seems, got carried away, showering all praise on the keeper of the temple and his 48 knights, while forgetting and overlooking the fact that the remaining 24,747 employees, who have worked day and night tirelessly, are the ones who mobilised the deposits, which make up to 14 per cent of the total deposits in the entire country.

The same very low-cost deposits are being utilised by the treasury’s 0.2pc employees to generate 58pc pre-tax profit, for ‘the largest bank in Pakistan’ for the year 2020.

So, why not do away with the redundant employees who had no role in the profit of the bank? Talking about the nine money-making segments within the bank, “the treasury accounted for the biggest bucks and the lowest relative expenses in 2020”. Well said.

However, the treasury was not the only segment of the bank which showed such phenomenal growth. In the last three-quarter report for the year 2020, the bank proudly claimed that another segment of the bank ‘non-fund income’ showed a remarkable increase of more than 50pc with hardly any expenses incurred, so why not give a little credit to retail banking group also?

Coming to the 20-odd instruments where the bank invests and earns most money from, these mostly relate to government papers. The bank is playing safe, and is happy and relaxed with no risks involved, while investing in government securities.

Reportedly, more than 1.7 trillion rupees were lent to the federal government, making up more than half of the bank’s balance sheet. I do not know if such a large exposure to one single party is considered prudent banking internationally.

Now come a few trillion-dollar questions. How much is the bank lending to the private sector, which once used to be the key function of a bank? How much effort is being made to expand its lending portfolio, and financing large-scale manufacturing and trade? How much responsibility is the bank shouldering towards the growth of the economy by focusing on areas which were professionally and traditionally the core fields of banking operations?

These questions need to be taken up seriously instead of just filling the bank’s coffers by lending to the federal government.

Muhammad K. Sufi
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2021