In a dramatic twist to Pakistan’s most watched banking appointment, the Finance Ministry has bypassed nine interviewed candidates and named NBP Chief Financial Officer Abdul Wahid Sethi as Acting President and CEO for three months.
By Imran Malik | Banking & Business Desk | MediaBites.com.pk
Pakistan’s most-watched banking appointment just delivered its most unexpected twist yet.
After nine candidates were interviewed. After three were reportedly shortlisted. After one name began circulating so consistently in media and banking circles that it seemed the announcement was simply waiting for the right moment.
None of them got the call.
Instead, the Finance Ministry has appointed Abdul Wahid Sethi, the Chief Financial Officer of the National Bank of Pakistan, as Acting President and CEO of the institution for an interim period of three months or until a permanent appointment is made, whichever comes first.
The black horse has entered the race. And it changes everything.
How We Got Here — The Full Story
MediaBites has been tracking this appointment from the beginning.
Nine candidates sat before a Finance Minister-chaired panel in the week of August 11. The interviews were completed. Sources indicated a shortlist of three emerged: names that banking circles had been circulating with increasing confidence.
One name in particular had gathered significant momentum. Media reports, banking community whispers, and sources close to the process all pointed in the same direction. The appointment seemed imminent. The announcement seemed days away.
Then nothing happened.
Incumbent president Rehmat Ali Hasnie, whose three-year tenure expired on August 6, had already been given a two-week extension to ensure continuity. That extension itself expired on August 21.
And on August 21, instead of the long-anticipated permanent appointment, the Finance Division’s Internal Finance Wing issued a notification signed by Deputy Secretary Amna Shabbir, appointing Sethi as Acting President under the Corporate Governance Regulatory Framework.
Who Is Abdul Wahid Sethi?
The man the federal government has appointed to lead Pakistan’s largest state-owned bank is not unknown in the industry. Far from it.
Abdul Wahid Sethi has served as Chief Financial Officer of NBP, giving him deeper institutional knowledge of the bank’s financial architecture, balance sheet complexity, and operational challenges than virtually anyone else in the organization.
Industry circles regard Sethi as a highly competent and polished banking professional, with peers widely recognizing his strong track record in handling complex financial and banking matters. As CFO of a bank with PKR 7.1 trillion in assets, PKR 85.9 billion in net profit, and 1,503 branches across Pakistan and 14 overseas locations, the complexity of what Sethi has been managing is not in question.
What is new is the title. And what the title signals.
The Federal Government vs Punjab’s Favorite
Here is the political dimension that the dry language of a Finance Division notification does not capture, but that every observer of Pakistan’s banking and political landscape reads clearly.
The candidate whose name had been circulating most prominently in the media as the frontrunner for the NBP presidency was widely understood to be the Punjab government’s preferred choice. Sources had indicated that the Punjab establishment had been actively advocating for this candidate through the appropriate channels.
The federal government’s decision to appoint an acting president from within NBP’s own senior management, bypassing the entire shortlisting process, rather than announcing the permanent appointment that appeared imminent, reads as a deliberate intervention. A pause. A reset. Perhaps a message.
Whether the Punjab-favored candidate remains in contention during the three-month interim period, or whether the acting appointment gives the federal government the space to redirect the process toward a different outcome, is the question Pakistan’s banking community is now asking.
What Three Months Actually Means
The notification specifies an interim period of three months or until a regular President and CEO is appointed, whichever comes first.
In Pakistan’s institutional history, interim appointments sometimes last their stated duration. They sometimes end earlier with a permanent appointment. And they sometimes quietly extend as the political calculations surrounding the permanent appointment remain unresolved.
For NBP, an institution that just posted its highest-ever net profit and is in the middle of a significant digital transformation, leadership continuity matters enormously. Three months of acting management under Sethi provides stability. It does not provide the strategic direction that a permanent appointment with a clear mandate and full institutional authority delivers.
The three-month clock is now running. The federal government says the permanent appointment process will continue during this period. Whether that process produces a different outcome than the one that appeared imminent last week is the question PKR 10.8 crore and Pakistan’s most powerful banking chair are waiting to answer.
Kaun Banega Crorepati? The Plot Thickens
When MediaBites first asked Kaun Banega Crorepati in our original NBP appointment story, there were nine candidates in the race, and the process seemed straightforward.
Then three were shortlisted. Then one appeared to be emerging. Then an acting appointment arrived from an entirely unexpected direction.
Pakistan’s most-watched banking story has just entered its most interesting chapter.
Abdul Wahid Sethi is in the chair. For now.
The permanent appointment remains unresolved. The Punjab-favored candidate remains in the picture. The federal government has demonstrated its willingness to intervene. And the PKR 10.8 crore annual salary, the PKR 7.1 trillion balance sheet, and the cultural transformation challenge we outlined in our Op-Ed are all waiting for whoever ultimately gets the call.
The black horse is running. But the race is not over.
— Imran Malik | Banking and Business Desk | MediaBites.com.pk | Southera.com
Disclaimer: This report is based on publicly available Finance Division notifications and industry sources. MediaBites has reported the names of shortlisted candidates only as per previously published media reports and source information. No candidate has been officially confirmed by the federal government.
