Syed Ali Raza is the current President and Chairman of the National Bank of Pakistan.[1]
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Raza is the son of Syed Hashim Raza, an ICS Indian Civil Services Officer of pre partition India,[1] who later emigrated to Pakistan and joined the civil service, Hashim Raza held top bureaucratic positions in the Government of Pakistan and was known for his love of English literature and language besides poetry and the arts. Until his death he was active on the social scene. Hashim Raza was a symbol of class, elegance and knowledge in Pakistan through the ages, his book "Hamari Manzil" (Our Destination) is a walk through Indo Pak history. As his son, Ali inherited the limelight from a young age along with his siblings, however, Ali rose to a level that few corporate professionals in Pakistan ever witness.
Syed Ali Raza was the longest serving President of the National Bank of Pakistan, a highly politicized and sensitive institution. He succeeded in bringing reforms, good governance and profitability to the bank to the extent possible. Like most public sector professionals in third world countries, Ali had to work his way through the maze of politics, influence and ridicule, he, however left an envious legacy behind. Among Ali's notable contributions at National Bank were creating a professional senior executive team, implementing the basis for Balanced Business Score Card at the top management level, bringing profitability and focus on treasury and corporate banking, making the branches and retail banking leaner and more effective and above all, managing political pressures throughout his tenure with positivity, hope and sheer hard work.
Ali Raza's wife (an Aquarian) who died a few years ago, was a spiritual lady who was the other extreme of Ali's worldly success and business prowess. They however remained a happy couple and have beautiful children together.
He has a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the London School of Economics.[1] He has a M.Sc. in Administrative Sciences from Cass Business School. He holds a graduate degree from IBA, Karachi, Pakistan.
Prior to joining the National Bank of Pakistan, Raza worked for Bank of America for 26 years. His last position at Bank of America was Senior Vice President and Regional Head of Bank of America Operations for the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan region.[2] Raza is a cricket enthusiast.
Ali Raza has been politically linked with Asif Ali Zardari, husband of the assassinated ex-prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Asif Zardari is a notorious & infamous figure whose reputation is riddled with corruption and criminal trials[3][4]. Ali Raza's remuneration & benefit schemes have been publicly critized[5] . Financial irregularities by Ali Raza during president Asif Ali Zardari's tenure, especially related to corporate loan disbursements was exposed by broadcast media channels across Pakistan[6] . Litigation by Supreme Court (suo moto notice) was also taken against Ali Raza which led to his removal, during his 4th term after 8 years at the helm as President. [7]