This has reference to the news item wherein it says that a special bench of the Supreme Court will hear appeals by various financial institutions that banks should continue to enjoy powers to sell mortgaged property to recover bad loans without having to seek prior permission from the courts.
I endorse this view and decision that banks should continue to enjoy powers to sell mortgaged properties to recover bad loans without having to seek prior permission from courts because in the past banks have never been allowed to exercise this authority, as a result of which our NPLs have swelled to Rs 494 billion.
Whenever banks try to sell the mortgaged property, the borrower approaches a court and the honourable judge of the relevant court will gladly and conveniently issue a stay order against the bank not to sell mortgaged property, on one pretext or the other. Not only this, but the courts have also, while issuing stay orders, ordered the banks to stop charging mark-up on the loan, whereas bank should continue to pay the profit on the security of the borrower held by the bank under its lien for the stuck up loans.
The news report further says that this ordinance was promulgated against the backdrop of banks' default figures, having increased to Rs 356 billion. What I have mentioned above that Banks have never been allowed to exercise this authority and the courts, issuing stay orders, proves by NPLs figures swelling to Rs 494 billion, as against Rs 356 billion as mentioned above, at the end of the year 2010.
Everyone will agree and appreciate, as citizens of Pakistan, it is our duty to safeguard and be sympathizer to our beloved country and save it from financial disaster due to non-recovery of NPLs, otherwise I reiterate once again that if suitable action is not taken, then our NPLs might swell to one trillion, and believe me, no country will come to our rescue, since we are not Iceland, Greece and Portugal etc. The IMF will provide us only a peanut size of loan of what we have lost that too with harsh conditions of taxing the poor masses of the country.
Why don't we learn from our neighbour country India where drastic and effective measures to recover NPLs have been taken. I hope that the special bench, the Supreme Court of Pakistan has constituted to work on this project will really work in true spirit and in favour of our country.