The National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) shut down three foreign branches indifferent countries namely Bangladesh (Sylhet), Afghanistan (Jalalabad),and Uzbekistan (Tashkent) in recent months, according to officials.
The closure of foreign branches is being done under the bank management’splan to overcome losses from these markets due to multiple operationalchallenges in the host countries.
The bank’s management planned to scale down its foreign operations lastyear which included several branches and subsidiaries for up to 14entities. The bank reviewed its plan and focused on seven markets forwinding up operations in the first phase whereas the rest of the closureswill be decided later.
The bank is working to shut down one more branch in Turkmenistan (Ashgabat)and two subsidiaries in Tajikistan (Dushanbe), and Kazakhstan (Almaty). Thelicenses of these outlets have been canceled by the banking regulators ofthe host countries and the closure of branches is underway these days.
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The earnings from the branches and subsidiaries have been falling graduallyover the last few years. Some of the branches are also making losses withvery low chances to recover.
