UBL has overstaffing in certain regions and understaffing in others and still has an imbalanced mix of clerical and managerial staff which is being corrected by offering such schemes. As the bank continues to shift toward Hub and Spoke structure, and close down low profitability branches, staff requirement will also reduce. VSS schemes were therefore, considered necessary to rationalize the staff levels and, if necessary, will continue in future as well. However, at the same time, quality staff is required in various areas that can serve as agents of change, and the bank continues to hire such professionals who can further enhance the modern banking culture in our working environment. This teamwork of old and new staff will enable us to capitalize on most of the opportunities arising in future.
Branch rightsizing For our branch network our emphasis is on service and technology.
However our network currently has a sizeable number of unprofitable or marginally profitable branches with low deposits that will not be possible to maintain with the extra costs. We are currently in the process of implementing a strategy to close down such branches thereby enabling us to have a leaner and more efficient branch network. In the first phase, to be completed by June end, we are closing down 356 branches, which will be followed by a long-term second phase wherein more branches will be closed in one year following the first phase. The negative effects will be minimized by Human ATMs which will be two person UBL counters. UBL counters at Post Offices Pakistan Post Office and UBL have entered into an agreement to setup UBL counters throughout the country.