BoK’s acting MD not appointed yet

PESHAWAR: The PTI government in KP has not been able to appoint an acting managing director (MD) for the Bank of Khyber (BoK) though 13 days have passed since the MD's departure. The provincial finance department has contacted the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) for help in order to determine seniority level of candidates for the appointment of an MD.

KP Finance Minister Muzaffar Said, while accepting the fact that the finance department had contacted the SBP to determine seniority level of potential candidates, said that the concerned department was taking guidelines from the SBP. He further added that this was the first time in the 27-year history of BoK that the bank was without an acting MD for 13 days.

The bank operations were being affected due to this reason, including provision of loans, formation of new branches and exploration of investment opportunities and new business avenues. Former MD Shamsul Qayyum was involved in various conflicts. He finished his tenure on Sept 29, 2017 and left the seat. According to rules, an acting MD must have been appointed before the former MD had left the charge or immediately after he had left the charge. However, this did not happen. The finance department had sought a list of potential candidates from senior officials of BoK to determine their seniority level and appoint the most senior candidate as an acting MD.