Banks (Transfer of Assets and Liabilities) Act, 1974

This 1974 Act transferred the assets and liabilities of two specific banks, the Eastern Mercantile Bank Limited and the Eastern Banking Corporation Limited, to the National Bank of Pakistan. Their affected offices and branches, located in cities such as Karachi, Lahore, Gujranwala, Islamabad, Hyderabad, Sialkot and Faisalabad, are listed in the Schedule. Section 3 overrides other laws and contracts, and Section 4 vests the undertaking of each specified office or branch in the National Bank of Pakistan on the Act's commencement.

Section 5 keeps existing contracts, agreements and pending court cases involving these offices in full force in favour of, or against, the National Bank of Pakistan, so nothing lapses because of the transfer. Section 6 lets the Federal Government exclude certain borrowings or liabilities from the transfer by order. Section 7 requires anyone holding part of the transferred undertaking to hand it over to the National Bank within seven days, and Section 8 allows a magistrate to authorise police to enter, search for, and seize such property. Section 9 required an audited evaluation of the transferred assets and liabilities within three months, and Section 10 validates actions taken by the affected banks' officers between 16 December 1971 and the date of transfer despite any later cancellation of their authority.

Section 13 makes contravening the Act, or wilfully obstructing anyone carrying out its purposes, punishable with imprisonment up to three years, or a fine, or both. Sections 14 and 15 bar courts from questioning anything done under the Act and grant indemnity for actions taken in good faith. This is an older statute that has itself been amended (Section 18 was later omitted), so current details should be checked against the official text.