Zarai Taraqiati Bank Ltd (ZTBL) has rehired seven top executives on a contract basis without a competitive process, paying them three to four times more than before despite accumulated losses of over Rs. 100 billion.
There have been 13 new inductions for top positions in the agriculture bank, including six from the market. All 13 executives, including the ZTBL acting president, would be entitled to a monthly salary ranging from Rs. 1.5 million to Rs. 2 million, as well as club memberships, in addition to petrol and other utilities, reported Dawn.
The Ministry of Finance and the State Bank of Pakistan had objected to the new inductions but the board rejected their concerns and endorsed its decision on the matter.
In a written response, the ZTBL upheld the board’s decisions, while Acting President Asadullah Habib declared through a spokesperson that the current Secretary of Finance was from his hometown, consequently ‘ensuring’ that the Ministry of Finance would shelve the matter.
The board employed four top executives from the market about six months ago to streamline the bank’s operations, but the results were negligible during the period. This created an opportunity to rehire some of the existing executives following their retirement or early exit at comparable pay scales.
Group Head Operations Zahid Hussain, SEVP Azfar Latif, Vice President Sabahat Batool, and Head of Digital Zeeshan Zafar were among those hired from the market. The notification for two further inductions for positions listed in the media is still pending.
These inductees were all previously employed by ZTBL and earned yearly wages ranging from Rs. 3.6 million to Rs. 4.5 million. According to sources, the ZTBL Act and Service Rules were not followed during the induction process.
The board likely contracted third-party services for the hiring process.
ZTBL stated that the central bank had voiced concerns about the terms and circumstances being given in March 2023, but the board opted to reappoint the seven executives after addressing the regulator’s concerns.
ZTBL added the seven inductees were already part of the regular staff when they were promoted in October 2022 after a competitive internal process headed by a Departmental Promotion Committee formed by the bank’s Board of Directors.
