Finance Ministry proposes Rehmat Ali Hasnie as principal candidate for President NBP

ISLAMABAD: Finance ministry has proposed the name of Rehmat Ali Hasnie as the principal candidate for the post of the President of National Bank of Pakistan.

In addition to the principal candidate, the Finance Ministry also proposed the names of Muhammad Abdullah Ahmed and Mudassir Husain Khan as alternate candidates. 

It is pertinent to note that Rehmat Ali Hasni has been working as the acting president of NBP since May 2022.

Sources close to the development said that the position of President NBP was advertised on February 09. 2023 and a total of one hundred and five applications were received. 

These applications were scrutinised by the Shortlisting Committee headed by the Finance Secretary.

The Finance division shared a list of 45 eligible candidates along with their CVs for comments under the Section 11(3)(a) of the Act. SBP cleared 15 candidates, who were in the panel of professional bankers.

The Shortlisting Committee in its meeting held previously assessed those 15 candidates on the basis of education, professional ,professional experience, quality of the previous organizations, diversity of experience and experience in leadership positions.

In July, the Selection Committee held interviews for the 15 candidates cleared by SBP. Two members of the selection committee ,Dr. Aisha Ghaus Pasha, Minister of State for Finance and Revenue and Tariq Bajwa (SAPM) did not attend the meeting.

11 Out of 15 candidates appeared for the interview (06 in person and 05 through Zoom video link).

The Selection Committee assessed the candidates on the basis of their professional knowledge and expertise. leadership qualities, communication skills, and aptitude for the job and unanimously recommended the following panel of three candidates, in order of merit, for appointment against the position of President/ CEO, NBP.

Sources said that Finance Division has asked Federal cabinet to approve names of Rehmat Ali Hasnie, Muhammad Abdullah Ahmed and Mudassir Husain Khan as President/CEO, NBP, under Section 11(3)5) of the Banks (Nationalization) Act, 1974 for a period of three years, subject to final Fit and Proper Test (FPT) clearance by the SBP.