ISLAMABAD, Dec 3: Ten chairmen of the Industrial Development Bank of Pakistan (IDBP) wrote off Rs7.767 billion to 808 individuals and industries from 1989-90 to 2004-05, official documents reveal.

In just a decade -- 1995-96 to 2005-06 -- the bank suffered a loss of Rs27.459 billion, compelling the government to decide last year its sale as a commercial bank, which is yet to take place.

The documents provided to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue disclose that only in 2004-05, bank's chairman Naeem Iqbal wrote off Rs2.976 billion to 79 individuals/companies.

A year before in 2003-04, another chairman Badruddin Khan made a remission of Rs258.155 million to 52 companies/individuals. He was the chairman of the bank for the second time.

Interestingly, Mr Khan had already made Rs1.245 billion remissions and write-offs to 77 individuals/companies when he was chairman of the bank in 2002-03 before Mirza Ghazanfar Baig took over as acting-chairman for a short period.

Fortunately, no remission was made when Mr Baig was acting-chairman not only between the two terms of Mr Khan but also between Mr Khan’s second term and that of Naeem Iqbal’s.The documents have also clarified that Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (Erra) Chairman Altaf M. Saleem had never been the IDBP chief.

In 2001-02, Javaid Sadiq had made Rs292.858 million remissions to 64 individuals/companies when he took over the chairmanship for the second time. During his first term -- 1998 to 2000 -- Mr Sadiq had written off Rs348.44 million to 116 individuals and companies.

Between the two terms of Mr Sadiq -- 2000-01 -- chairman Mian Asif Saeed wrote off a hefty amount of Rs1.089 billion to just 44 individuals and companies.

In 1997-98, chairman Tahir Abbas made of a remission of Rs545.45 million to 113 individuals and companies. Before him, chairman Mohammad Munawar had written off Rs708.337 million to 74 individuals and companies.

Chairman K.M. Nagra wrote off Rs60.732 million to 71 individuals and industries during his term from 1993 to 1997.

From 1989 to 1993, chairman Abdur Rehman had approved a remission of Rs262.885 million to 118 individuals and companies.

According to the accounts of the bank as on the last day of June 2005, the IDBP required Rs27.99 billion for financial restructuring. The money will be borne by the government after waiving the State Bank penalties amounting to Rs2.7 billion. But the audit has put the restructuring amount at Rs33.056 billion.

The documents reveal that the government will have to inject a hefty amount if it wanted the bank to capitalise after incorporating it with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan as Industrial Development Bank Ltd (IDBL). The incorporation requires IDBL to show an authorised capital of Rs6 billion and paid-up capital of Rs6 billion.

The State Bank is of the view that till the completion of the IDBL sale, the total cost of restructuring will further shoot up to Rs34.517 billion, requiring a fresh cash injection of Rs7.503 billion by the government.

The present IDBP chairman will continue his job until the bank is converted to IDBL.

The IDBP was set up in Aug 1961 for extending credit facilities to the industrial sector. The government and the SBP together own about 93 per cent share of the bank. Provincial governments own only two per cent shares in the bank, while the remaining five per cent belongs to some public sector institutions.