NBP reform bill hands finance ministry a veto over the bank's next president
Pakistan's plan to reform National Bank of Pakistan gives the federal government a decisive say over who runs the country's largest state-owned bank, even as it promises the independence an IMF programme demands. Under the draft NBP Amendment Act, 2026, the central board must send three presidential candidates to the federal government by a three-fourths majority - a majority that must include the vote of the Finance Division's ex-officio director, according to Token Times.
The Cabinet Committee on Legislative Cases has cleared the draft, which Parliament must pass as a condition of the IMF programme. It replaces much of the 1949 NBP Ordinance, but the president would still be appointed by the federal government in consultation with the State Bank of Pakistan, on a three-year performance contract extendable for substantially satisfactory performance. Terms and conditions would be set by the board with federal government approval.
The bill layers NBP under three regimes at once: the new NBP Act, the State-Owned Enterprises Act and the Pakistan Sovereign Wealth Fund Act, with the State Bank retaining regulatory control. Where the SOE Act and the NBP Act conflict, the SOE Act prevails. The government can raise or cut the number of directors at any time, within a six-to-nine range, provided independents stay in the majority.
A majority of directors would be independent and drawn from the private sector. The federal government would appoint a chairman of eminence and known integrity from a panel of professional bankers maintained by the State Bank, and four independent directors in consultation with the central bank. Sitting parliamentarians and local council members are barred, and directors must be Pakistani citizens.
On commencement, every local board, area board, regional committee and managing committee would be dissolved, with members losing office and entitled to no compensation. The State Bank's authority, the draft says, would be of paramount importance and unaffected by any law applying to NBP.
