National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) has entered into an arrangement with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) to offer articles training to the Chartered Accountancy students throughout the country. A ceremony in this connection was held on December 17, 2021 at the Bank’s Head Office and was attended by existing and past ICAP Council members and CA professionals from industry.
Addressing the audience, President of the Bank Mr. Arif Usmani encouraged the idea of promoting professional excellence through extensive training and grooming of young finance professionals as future visionaries and economic leaders of the country. This goes well with the Bank’s Vision to be the Nation’s Leading Bank Enabling Sustainable Growth and Inclusive Development. The Bank has capacity to induct up to 75 trainees at any point in time. Placement will be offered initially at the Bank’s Head Office and then throughout the Country, thus creating a nationwide opportunity for those students who cannot relocate to bigger cities to pursue CA qualification. Extensive learning plans offered by the Bank include rotated placement of trainees in all key functions of the Bank, particularly in Finance, Audit, Risk, Operations, Compliance, Treasury, IT, HR, etc.
The Bank will support deserving trainees through reimbursement of the cost of approved study materials as well as examination fees. The arcticleship training programme is regulated by the ICAP to ensure quality & comprehensive training programme for producing talented Chartered Accountants. The audience appreciated this initiative of NBP as an excellent opportunity for young CA professionals, and acknowledged contributions of the Bank towards economic growth in the country over the last seven decades.
NBP has recently made considerable progress in its strategy across various businesses and for playing its systemically important role in the economy while maintaining a strong and resilient balance sheet to deliver performance for shareholders. The management is committed to modernizing the Bank to achieve excellence in risk and control environment, business processes and service quality to clients. The Bank’s business strategy will increase its focus on financing and supporting underserved sectors including SME, Microfinance, Agriculture Finance and the PM’s Low-Cost Housing initiative on a priority basis.