NBP CEO salary: Imran Sarwar gets Rs9.5m a month, two cars and Rs30m life cover

“NBP” is climbing Google searches in Pakistan today, and it is not because of a new account offer. Shareholders of the state-owned National Bank of Pakistan have approved a pay package for its new President and CEO, Imran Sarwar, that starts at Rs9.5 million a month in gross salary.

The approval came at an extraordinary general meeting in Karachi on October 22, and the bank told the Pakistan Stock Exchange about it on Friday, Business Recorder and Bloom Pakistan reported.

How much will the NBP CEO earn?

The headline numbers, from the filing as reported by Business Recorder:

• Salary: Rs9.5 million a month, gross, before tax.
• Housing: Rs1 million a month as house rent allowance. He chose this instead of the bank’s concessional home loan.
• Bonus: an annual performance bonus tied to targets approved by shareholders and judged by the board. No amount has been set, and the item on his 2026 targets was withdrawn at the meeting.
• Term: from September 9, 2026, when he took charge, until 2029. The package stays fixed for the whole contract.

Bloom Pakistan worked out that salary plus housing alone comes to about Rs126 million a year, before any bonus or perks.

What else is in the package?

The list of benefits is long, and it is the part people are sharing most:

• Two cars, one of them from the bank’s pool, with fuel paid, and two drivers (or Rs45,000 a month per driver).
• The option to buy his main car at the end of the contract for 10% of its cost or its written-down value, whichever is higher.
• Four security guards at his home, utility bills at actual cost, two home phones and two mobiles.
• Up to Rs150,000 a month for five domestic staff and a generator worth up to Rs1.5 million.
• Medical and dental cover for him and his family in Pakistan, and Rs30 million in life insurance, with the premium split 50-50 between him and the bank.
• Gratuity of one month’s salary for every year served, plus entry fees for two clubs and subscriptions for three.

If the bank ends his contract early, it pays him for the remaining term. If he resigns, he serves three months of “gardening leave”.

Who is Imran Sarwar?

The Finance Division announced his appointment on September 3. Before NBP he was the chief risk officer at United Bank Limited and earlier ran corporate banking for Standard Chartered in the UAE, according to Business Recorder and ProPakistani.

Why it is getting attention

NBP is majority-owned by the government and holds a large share of public money, so its pay decisions draw more scrutiny than a private bank’s. Under the Banks (Nationalization) Act, the president’s package has to be approved by shareholders, which is why every detail ended up in a public stock exchange filing.

The same meeting also elected Muhammad Afzal as a director for private shareholders, subject to State Bank of Pakistan clearance. The next thing to watch is the performance targets that will decide his bonus, which shareholders still have to approve.