Five task forces to regulate induction, promotions in banking

Five task forces have been set up to regulate induction and promotions in the banking profession. These are on recruitment and training, performance management, compensation and profits and remuneration. State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Dr Ishrat Husain stated this, while addressing the participants of a course on "Effective Branch Management", organised by the Institute of Bankers Pakistan (IBP) here on Thursday.
Pakistan Banks Association would adopt some of the recommendations of the task forces, while the State Bank would provide others. After adoption of the recommendations all banks would follow uniform norms and standards, he added.
Ishrat said that in future promotions in the banks would be on certain criteria. Nobody would be promoted on qualities of appeasement and buttering, but on real knowledge and competence. Candidates would be evaluated on every stage before getting promotions even on the post of executive vice president.
He exhorted the bank managers to be courteous with their customers and shun the habit of postponing their request for the next day. Apart from knowledge and skill to become a bank officer behaviour and attitude towards the customers is also very important. A customer desperately wanting to know about the remittances must be helped properly.
He said that according to the vision statement drawn for the banks Pakistan would export financial services to the Middle East, Central Asian Republics and Africa in the next five years. This is only possible when we equip ourselves with the knowledge and skill because we cannot compete unless we have these qualities, he added.
Pakistan is ahead of many countries in the banking profession and Pakistani bankers earned a good name in international banks before nationalisation of the banks and even after that.
The SBP governor said that it was not possible for the IBP to train 7,000 managers in the country. He asked the participants to learn training skills during the course so that they can serve as trainers for the batch to come.