The National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) has urged Nazir Razak to reconsider his decision to step down as chairperson of CIMB Group Holdings Bhd.

According to its general secretary J Solomon, there are not many chairpersons or presidents of his calibre and his exit would be a “great loss” to the banking sector.

“It needs to be mentioned that like his contemporaries in Maybank and Public Bank, he took the lead in humanising employment policies in the bank in the interest of workers.

“NUBE hopes he will reconsider his decision and continue to contribute his expertise and knowledge to the Malaysian banking industry and industrial relations,” he added in a statement.

Soloman said Nazir has been a pivotal figure in the development of the Malaysian banking sector and placed CIMB on the world map.

He noted that although there were “stormy challenges” between NUBE and CIMB in the past, Nazir was able to weather them by adopting the social dialogue mechanism and giving audience to the union to discuss issues affecting workers for an amicable resolution.

“We recall he was instrumental in resolving the Collective Bargaining dispute in 2008 when he honoured his word to incorporate the Cost of Living Allowance (Cola) in the subsequent Collective Agreement which alleviated to a certain extent the financial burden of over 30,000 bank workers.

“After settling a trade dispute between CIMB and Nube, Nazir attended our triennial delegates conference in 2014 and in addressing the delegates, said, 'We can agree to disagree. But we cannot deviate from working together'. This is a reflection of his maturity and leadership trait,” he added.

Solomon said at 51, Nazir is still comparatively young and has much to offer the banking industry.

On Monday, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd announced that Nazir would step down from his post and all other positions within the group by Dec 31, 2018.

Nazir, who is the brother of former premier Najib Abdul Razak, had been with CIMB since 1989 and served as group chairperson since 2014.

His current term was supposed to end in August 2019.

Speculation had been rife regarding Nazir's position following his brother's defeat in the May 9 general election.