KARACHI: HBL would do that? Never believed that but yes, after all everything that is operating in Pakistan seems to operate efficiently only in the beginning but as soon as they start to gain popularity and its customers trust, here, it’s time to break this trust.
I went to the branch of Shara-e-Qaideen on 29th April, 2021, for the simplest possible document that a customer can ask, a 6-month bank statement, sounds it’ll take only a couple of minutes for the branch to hand it over and stamp it. But the Branch Manager informed me their branch has been merged and they are unable to provide it. I requested them that it’s very urgent and I need to submit it today, so they tried and tried and gave me a print that shows only 3 transactions for the month end. When enquired they said its their IT problem and it occurred on April 19th and still going on, so basically the branch is useless if it cannot provide a simple document and their IT cannot settle this even after a passage of ten days.
I went to the branch on Monday again then, same issues and they asked me to go to the Shahra-e-Faisal Branch and meet the Operation Manager, faced same issue there and still the printer showed 3 transactions, it is very much uncertain if it is the inefficiency of HBL or they have an outsourced IT department that is way too much inefficient, as the circumstances that I am facing due to non-availability of the bank statement is actually causing me monetary loss, and who is responsible for it?
If they are still facing the issue till date, they should find an alternate in order for their customers so that they would not face such embarrassments because of their own inefficiencies. Even the head office is unable to provide me the bank statement and their mobile application is restricted to 2-month statement only.
I am very much exhausted, and will suggest HBL, if it is because of their IT department then they should change it in order to keep its good reputation. As it has been more than 15 days and they are still unable to settle this problem and that is very much embarrassing for a bank like HBL that they cannot handle mergers and as little things as a statement print. Kudos to their management on proving the fact of their inefficiencies.
State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) should regulate consumer banking with strict compliance and take strict action on banks that are not able to serve banking consumers properly and enhance its strict monitoring and ensure that all banks should hire proper qualified and skilled staff familiar with banking protocols. Banking training also should be necessary for all banking staff with proper banking institutes instead of hiring staff on commission basis as various banks are doing this practice.