NRB invites for NBL CEO

Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) invited applications for the post of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Nepal Bank Ltd (NBL). “The central bank has invited Nepali consultants to submit their Expression of Interest (EoI) for the post of CEO,” said a high-ranking official at NRB.
According to the Terms of Reference (ToR), the CEO requires to re-establish control and overseeing of NBL — plagued by Non-Performing Loan (NPL) — for sound banking practices.
“The CEO will review the financial and operational conditions of NBL, maintain profitable operation and recommend viable alternatives for cost-effective operations apart from preparing a Management Plan that establishes goals and objectives for the management of NBL and also prepare Key Performance Indicators (KPIs),” he said adding that the CEO’s tenure would be initially a year with the option of extension as per requirement.
Earlier, on January 15 of 2007, NRB had called for technical and financial proposal to contractout the NBL management to a Nepali professional team that would include CEO, chief credit officer, treasury manager and chief operating officer. However, at that time the application did not meet the crieteria of World Bank guidelines for selection and employment of consultants.
This time, however, the central bank has called only for a CEO. “However, the management team will comprise up to three other management experts from different fields. The CEO shall recommend to NRB a maximum of other three management team members within three months of his appointment,” the official said adding that the other management team members would be appointed by NRB on the recommendation of the CEO.
Interested Nepali individuals having qualifications, eligibility and adherence to the terms and conditions can apply by January 20.
The government has received credit for an amount equivalent to $16 million and DFID grant for an amount equivalent to $10 million towards the cost of the Financial Sector Technical Assistance Project and intends to apply part of the grant for consultant service that includes management services for the continuation of NBL’s restructuring.The CEO should have working experience in any commercial bank in the upper levels of management, according to the ToR. “The CEO will have to prepare a revised Management Plan for review and approval of the NRB within 30 days of taking up the management and submit Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Single Borrower Limit Strategy and Action Plan to bring the credit of all customers crossing single obligor limit and Loan Recovery Strategy - and will report directly to NRB,” the official added.
The consultant will this time also be selected in accordance with the World Bank’s ‘Guidelines for Selection and Employment of Consultant by the World Bank Borrowers, Revised-October 2006’.
The troubled commercial bank has been since last one-and-a-half years managed by a three-member team coordinated by Dr Binod Atreya.
NRB last month called back two members — Laxmiprapanna Niraula and Numnath Poudel — of the three-member coordination team that it had sent to manage NBL.