Risk Manager role with Afghanistan International Bank

Sometime in the dim and distant past, I had registered myself with an India based job site. This was when my father was ill, and I was considering moving back to India. Anyway, I had forgotten all about it, till today when this email landed in my inbox.

Post Title: Risk Manager
Organization: Afghanistan International Bank
Location: Kabul - Afghanistan
Duration: Permanent
No. of Post: 1
Sex: Any
Nationality Any
Salary: 4000 US $ p.m.+ accommodation + travel+ other benefits.
Background: Afghanistan International Bank (AIB), a commercial bank incorporated in Afghanistan and managed according to international best practices is looking for an experienced Risk Manager for its Head Office in Kabul.
Job Summary: Overall Job Purpose:
Due to rapid expansions of its business and operations the banking is looking for a Risk Manager. The position allows the successful candidate to be part of the senior management team of the bank and play a major role in its continued development.
The successful candidate will be expected to build a risk monitoring systems complying with Basel II requirements thus additional experience in market and operational risk management will be a distinct advantage.
Priority will be placed on credit management and the successful candidate will have had experience in:
1. • Credit Policies & Procedures
a. Credit policy, review and development
b. Acquisition or development of decision support tools for commercial and retail credit
c. Risk rating framework review
d. Underwriting standards development
2. • Risk Asset Review
a. Review of individual credit risk ratings
b. Credit quality assessments
3. • Portfolio Management Unit
a. Profitability and risk analysis
b. Pricing policy
c. Develop predictive dynamic monitoring
Qualification • Master degree
• Minimum 10 years experience directly related to risk management where at least 5 years in senior risk management capacity.
• Fully functional in monitoring of documentation, portfolios & exposure limits of the bank.
• Excellent analytical, creativity and problem solving skills.
• Posses good presentation and organizational skills.
Interested candidates can send their CVs with recent photo to this address:

Few thoughts crossed my mind.

1. The package is way too low for what is a hardship posting, so I am curious to know why would they have selected that compensation level.
2. Its an interesting job all right, but very ambitious. Candidates for this role with the required background and experience will be very few globally.
3. But it is good to read that they are aggressive, and I wish them luck with their hiring.
4. I researched the bank on the net and I was not really that comfortable to see that the address of the bank related to some house. Here is the address: House no. 1608 Behind Amani High School Wazir Akbar Khan, Kabul. Reminded me of the addresses I would see in the tiny lanes old Bhopal. 
5. One of the unsung success stories in Afghanistan is the steady development of the banking system. Considering that the Mullah's had effectively eviscerated the banking system, in a matter of 5 months, they have passed a series of banking laws, have presence of many international and local incorporated banks, got some good governmental backing from the Ministry of Finance.
6. Here is an interesting Afghan review report for the IMF. Gives you hope, no? and no, I am not suffering from the curse of low expectations. Give the country a break, it is starting from near zero.

I further quote some numbers on how Afghanistan has progressed since 2001 from this speech. (even though the verbiage could be a bit optimistic and is after all, coming from a US State Department Employee, the figures, even if adjusted, are noteworthy).

Reconstruction and development work remains on track in most of the country and the Afghan economy continues to grow at impressive rates, with licit Gross Domestic Product more than doubling since 2002. Thanks in large part to our colleagues in the U.S. Government, the lives of millions of Afghans have improved considerably: In 2001, just 8 percent of Afghans had access to some form of healthcare; now, more than 80 percent of the population has access to medical care. Almost 11,000 medical professionals have been trained. More than 680 hospitals and clinics have been built and outfitted. For the first time in 10 years, the grain harvest was sufficient to meet consumption needs inside Afghanistan. In 2001, 900,000 children – mostly boys – were enrolled in school; now, there are more than 5 million and more than 1.5 million of these (34%) are girls and young women. Since 2001, there has been a 22 percent decline in mortality rates for infants and children under 5 years of age – we are saving 85,000 more young lives every year. Two years ago only 35 percent of children were being inoculated against the polio virus. Now more than 70 percent of the population – including 7 million children – are inoculated. In 2001, there was a dysfunctional banking system. Now, Afghanistan has a functioning Central Bank with more than 30 regional branches and an internationally-traded currency. There are now 3 mobile telephone companies serving over 3.5 million subscribers – this is almost 11 percent of the population. In 2001, there were 50 kilometers of paved roadway in the country, now there are more than 4000 kilometers of paved roads.

The main thing which struck me was the sheer banality and normality of this advertisement. A very small thing, but something which gave confidence to me that Afghanistan is improving little by little, despite all the gruesome news coming out of Afghanistan and all the efforts by the Taliban to drag that benighted country back into the medieval ages. Sometimes, its good to see the good side of the story as well. I can only wish the country the best of luck and here's hoping that the Taliban are defeated. And if it keeps on hiring professionals of the type in the advertisement, it can only get better.

PS: then I read something like this and feel very depressed.

Technorati Tags: Afghanistan,Banking,Risk Management

There is no terrorist infrastructure in our country

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Technorati Tags: Pakistan,Terrorism,Taliban

Ministers cannot be trusted with the truth

Now this is seriously humiliating for the current government ministers (and perhaps most of the political class in the UK). The fact that the British populace does not trust the political class is not surprising, but the fact that for the past 10 odd years, the Labour government, with its spin and lying, has really brought the state of economics to this end. I quote:

The head of Britain's statistics watchdog has called for ministers to be stripped of their right to see sensitive official data before it is published. Sir Michael Scholar, the chairman of the UK Statistics Authority, accused ministers of using their advance sight of official figures for political gain and warned that it was eroding public trust in official statistics.

Now why would you do that, you ignorant, moronic, control freak, lying ministers? Dont you realise the damage you are doing by trying to spin everything? What is your problem? We elected you to govern well, just when did you get the idea that you were elected to lie to us and spin the numbers to us? What gives you the idea that you are elected to do so?

Technorati Tags: Statistics,United Kingdom

The West WILL lose in Afghanistan because of corruption

There are quite a lot of military ways and reasons that it will be difficult to win in Afghanistan, ranging from lack of helicopters to lack of security and and and. But on thing which will make it impossible to do anything in Afghanistan, to make it into a normal country, will be corruption. That is why countries fail and Afghanistan, based upon this story, will again go back to the medieval hell-hole that it was before. Corruption decays governments and civil institutions, there is no trust and it creates havoc within all efforts to make sense out of the country reconstruction mechanisms. I quote some bits:

When it comes to governing this violent, fractious land, everything, it seems, has its price. Want to be a provincial police chief? It will cost you $100,000. Want to drive a convoy of trucks loaded with fuel across the country? Be prepared to pay $6,000 per truck, so the police will not tip off the Taliban. Need to settle a lawsuit over the ownership of your house? About $25,000, depending on the judge.

As with fish, the rot starts at the top. President Karzai is to blame. And actually, the blaming starts with the American and British advisors who are actually propping this corrupt regime up. But then, nobody ever said that the American President and British Prime Minister were smart, both of them are drooling morons. So what do they do to help Afghanistan be good? They put in troops, rather than kick out the corrupt bastards who are sucking the Afghans and my taxpayer dollars.

Many Afghans, including Mr. Ghani, the former finance minister, place responsibility for the collapse of the state on Mr. Karzai, who, they say, has failed repeatedly to confront the powerful figures who are behind much of the corruption. In his stint as finance minister, Mr. Ghani said, two moments crystallized his disgust and finally prompted him to quit.

The first, Mr. Ghani said, was his attempt to impose order on Kabul’s chaotic system of private property rights. The Afghan government had accumulated vast amounts of land during the period of Communist rule in the 1970s and 1980s. And since 2001, the government has given much of it away — often, Mr. Ghani said, to shady developers at extremely low prices.

The fact that the Afghans are ungovernable and many time medieval is not in doubt, but how does that excuse Bush and Brown from being so stupid in propping up a corrupt government with the lives of our countrymen? The blame falls on these 2 venal cowardly leaders. Will the new leaders of our country do something about it?

Technorati Tags: Afghanistan,Corruption

Poor teachers fuelling 'loathing of books'

Just read some excerpts from this story.

Susan Hill, who wrote The Woman in Black, Strange Meeting and I'm the King of the Castle, told how she has been flooded with "desperate" emails from pupils struggling to understand her novels. Miss Hill said that the demands of mixed ability teaching meant pupils at the "bottom of the heap" failed to understand books while the very brightest were no longer pushed.

She said "rudeness and even abuse" were common among emails. Many failed to reread or check spelling before sending messages, teenagers often used informal phrasing and many addressed her as "Sue". "I don't require deference, just friendly politeness. But it is not their fault," she said. "They have not been taught. Manners are not automatic, like breathing. Nor is grammar. I suppose I could correct the spelling and grammar errors, but if I did so, replying to their desperate emails would take me twice as long."

Miss Hill said students wrote asking her to complete coursework and provide information in bullet-point form that teenagers could "cut and paste" into essays. She told how she refused to write an essay for one pupil, only to be met with the reply: "Why not?" Another wrote saying: "But you've got to know the answer, you wrote the ----ing book didn't you?"

"It has become distressingly clear to me that too many school pupils are taught badly, lazily, unintelligently and cursorily," she said.

"They are not taught how to read and understand novels or to write essays and coursework and answer questions about them. Judging by the evidence of their emails, many should not be studying English literature at all, but with guidance, understanding and above all enthusiastic teaching they could certainly be helped to get more out of books - any books - than they are."

Now, let me relate a story about my own son. He hates English literature. On being asked why? He simply always points to rotten teachers who do not speak to him with good intentions or even with skill. What do kids of his age like? They like fantasy, computer games, PE, football and the like. So the books they would like to read would relate to science fiction, adventure and the classics as well. But when their responses are like the following:

"Hi Sue, I'm doing your book, we have to read it and just wanna say it's the most boring crap book I ever read, so thanks a lot for ruining my life. Cheers."

"Hi Susan, we're doing your book, I've gotta do coursework only I don't understand about context, what is it, and I don't no any other gothic writers and we've got to compare you, what's gothic anyway. Pleeeeze reply asap."

"Hi. I've got this essay to do for tomoz, it's about I'm the king of the castle and does the setting play an important part in the story. Can you reply tonight and do it in bullet points so I can copy and paste it straight in. thanks you're a star in advance, cheers..."

"Hi, we have to do this essay on context with your book, and cultural context so what are those please, please explain carefully, I don't get it."

When the student has not learnt, the teacher has not taught. And no, you cannot blame the parents in this case, we make sure that he reads and loves reading. Will teachers get the passion to teach? To Sir with Love? Or will political correctness destroy the lower ability kids and kill with boredom the kids with higher abilities? Yes it will, lord help this education system...No wonder the teaching unions do not want to be paid by performance, who would wish that, eh? after all, the other way is better, no?

Think about it, Goldman Sachs, a premier Investment Bank, fires 10% of its people for underperformance every year. Without fail. So lets say that we do ascribe the crime of under expectations to the teaching profession (which is shameful anyway, the teaching profession should be highest) and say 1/10 of the standards is something to ascribe to. Does the education system in the country remove 1% of its teachers for underperformance every year? Or even 0.1%? no, lets ask the teaching unions and the ministers for schools (those idiots). And they have no answer and I refuse to believe that every teacher is so amazing that there is no failures/underperformance.

Look at the annual report, objective 3, Achieve world class standards in education

• In September 2007 a new programme, Every Child a Writer, was launched which will provide intensive support for writing in primary schools. The Department is working with a group of local authorities to develop pilots, beginning in September 2008, that will include one-to-one coaching
• Commissioned Sir Jim Rose to conduct a root and branch review of the primary curriculum. He will issue an interim report in October 2008 and is due to report his final recommendations by the end of March 2009.
  Publication of the revised secondary curriculum in July 2007.
• Announced the expansion of the Young, Gifted and Talented programme, run by the CfBT Education Trust; and appointed a new champion for the Young, Gifted and Talented programme, John Stannard.
• Announced a new strategy to educate the next generation of scientists and mathematicians which includes resources for teacher recruitment and retention, continuing professional development and science and engineering clubs.
• Continued to provide support for the on-going development of extended schools so that they enable access to services for pupils, families and the local community including childcare, parenting and family support.
• Launched new guidelines to ensure effective and early action is taken to improve weak and failing schools in May 2007

Is there anything that says here which gives you confidence that underperforming teachers will be addressed? No. All this pap means that it will simply be swept under the carpet and authors/parents will be sighing and moaning that their kids are not learning about reading literature.

Technorati Tags: Schooling,United Kingdom

Married couples 'punished by tax system'

This is again so sad. Survey and study after study has shown that married households with kids provide the best form of family unit for society. Ok, lets say that you leave them alone, but only a drooling, power mad, stupid, ignorant moron will actively go and penalise hard working families for being married and living together. But then, we are talking about Gordon Brown, who is a liar and complete incompetent stupid bugger of the first order. I quote:

Despite Gordon Brown's pledge to support "hard working families", those who marry or set up home together and establish a stable family are up to 20 per cent poorer, the Civitas study shows.

They will also reignite political debate over whether married couples should receive tax breaks, a policy abolished by Mr Brown in 1999 and likely to be a key battleground in the next general election. The report also found that so-called "pushy, middle-class parents" who provide a supportive home and try to find the best education for their children improved schools and communities.

Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "The current benefits system has huge inbuilt biases against socially responsible behaviour and the tax system punishes families who try to do the right thing. The report, Individualists Who Co-Operate, said the system "penalises" couples who live together, adding to accusations that Labour's taxes and handouts are encouraging the death of traditional family structures.

It found, in one case, that where a lone mother earned £10,000 a year, and her partner earned £25,000, they were £5,473 worse off if they decided to live together. If the lone mother did not work, they were £4,522 worse off for cohabiting. The report echoed claims that Government policies have led to the "perpetuation of single-parent families", adding: "Potential partners on low incomes (precisely those who can only make ends meet by combining their efforts) are discouraged from partnering (or re-partnering)."

The report found that marriage combined with full-time work was the best way out of poverty for couples with children. Research last year, from the Millennium Cohort Study, found that married parents are more than twice as likely to stay together as those who are unwed.

As Chancellor, Gordon Brown abolished married couples' allowance in 1999 and introduced tax credits that reward single mothers over couples. In his first Labour Party conference speech as Prime Minister, in 2007, Mr Brown said: "I reach out to all those who work hard and play by the rules, who believe in strong families and a patriotic Britain, who may have supported other parties but who, like me, want to defend and advance British values and our way of life.''

In his New Year address yesterday he insisted that his "guiding principle" was the wellbeing of British families and businesses, adding: "What keeps me up at night, and gets me up in the morning, are the hopes and aspirations of the British people."

Dont you feel bilious about how Gordon Brown actively lies, ducks and dives to cover up his economic incompetence? What a moron.

Technorati Tags: economics,united kingdom,taxation

Dont fight for wages on the basis of religion

Ok, read this. I quote:

Delaying the payment of foreign workers is totally against Islam. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “Give the worker his wage before his sweat dries.” This came as an order for people to pay their workers their financial rights as soon as they are due. Timely payment of labourers is a legal duty across the world.

You know why I am upset with this? Because appealing to religion does not work at all, or works very badly. Why on earth would you stop paying salaries and then try to convince people that religion is a reason for keeping on paying salaries? Surely, it should be enough that you are a good person and simply being good is enough? Here, read what Robert Fisk says about religion and people doing basic good things.

There has developed in Egypt a kind of religious facade in which the meaning of Islam has become effaced by its physical representation. Egyptian civil "servants" and government officials are often scrupulous in their religious observances – yet they tolerate and connive in rigged elections, violations of the law and prison torture. A young American doctor described to me recently how in a Cairo hospital busy doctors merely blocked doors with plastic chairs to prevent access to patients. In November, the Egyptian newspaper Al-Masry al-Youm reported how doctors abandoned their patients to attend prayers during Ramadan.

Its just not in Egypt but across the world. Being personally pious and not doing their jobs drags the good name of the Prophet and the religion through the mud. So both commentators as well as individuals, stop being morons and worse, hypocrites. You have a job to do, do it well. Pay salaries to people who cannot live without their salaries. Going to pray to God while letting your patients die? What kind of Islam are you following or more importantly, it has nothing to do with Islam but all to do with the venal behaviour of these stupid morons. Telling them that it is against Islam would not help it, they will be pious as hell and not do what they should. And religion gets the blame. What you need is a big stick to beat the shit out of these hypocrites.

Technorati Tags: Saudi Arabia,Egypt

Malmo Riots

Malmo is not part of the "good" areas of Sweden, it creeped me out when I went there, almost like Johannesburg city centre back in the late 1990's. A very high immigrant populace, illiteracy, refugees, drug dealing, you name it, it was a hell hole. And looks like they still have it. BBC reported it thusly.

 

"We've had a very difficult evening," a police spokeswoman told the AFP news agency late on Thursday. "There have been fires burning since this afternoon... extensive damage to public property, and... stone-throwing and bomb threats against police."

She said the trouble was linked to the closure of an Islamic centre. The owner of the building, in an immigrant neighbourhood, had decided not to renew the centre's lease. The centre, which included a mosque, had to move out. But some youths squatted in the premises, until they were evicted by police earlier this week. Once police left the premises, the youths returned, setting fires in the area. They then clashed with police.

"The origin of the riots is the occupation of the building. But that's not really the reason now, now other troublemakers have just joined in, taking advantage of the situation," police spokeswoman Ewa-Gun Westford told AFP.

So what do normal people think about this situation? Here's a Swedish discussion board on this issue with 145 comments. Quite instructive to read them all. And here are some YouTube videos. All is not well in Sweden. And after remembering the Bradford riots, this is worrisome.

Technorati Tags: Sweden,Immigration

Why would you mistreat a donkey?

Poor chaps are so nice and cute and cuddly? Look what they are doing in Ethiopia.

"Owners were once oblivious to their animals’ welfare – they realised that their animals would go faster if their wounds were hit," The Brooke vetinerary assistant Belay said.

 

Donkey's most common suffering is stress and they dont like to be separated from their friends. Here's a nice little charity for them in case you are interested.

Look at the cute face, how can you not like them?

Technorati Tags: animals,Ethiopia

Chinese internet vigilantes bring down another official

Now this is excellent news, that a bunch of internet users in China have managed to bring down corrupt crooks in power. Now why cant we do the same in other countries such as India? I am sure this can be pushed forward much more, but it will take much more efforts. Still, good stuff, very good, we need more of this. Bloody corrupt blood suckers. May you rot in prison!

Technorati Tags: China,Corruption,Internet