Money and banking drive economic activity by facilitating transactions, savings, and investments. Banks manage financial resources, offer credit, and regulate money supply, ensuring stability and growth in Pakistan’s financial sector.
KARACHI: The Pak Rupee (PKR) recovered 25 paisas against the dollar on Friday owing to ease in international oil prices.
(more…)KARACHI: The Pak Rupee (PKR) dropped by 27 paisas against the dollar on Thursday on the foreign currency demand for import payments.
The rupee ended at Rs176.49 to the dollar from previous day’s closing of Rs176.22 in the interbank foreign exchange market.
READ MORE: Rupee falls four paisas on dollar demand
Currency experts said that the market witnessed higher dollar demand due to rise in international oil prices. They said that the local currency plummeted for the third consecutive trading sessions due to gradual rise in international oil prices.
The Brent crude recorded $89.17 at closing of Wednesday.
READ MORE: Rupee declines by 26 paisas to dollar on import demand
The experts said that the falling foreign exchange reserves of the country were another reason for the rupee depreciation.
The foreign exchange reserves of the country fell by $118 million to $23.901 billion by the week ended January 07, 2022 as compared with $24.019 billion by the week ended December 31, 2021. The official reserves of the SBP declined by $88 million to $17.598 billion by the week ended January 07, 2022 as compared with $17.686 billion a week ago.
READ MORE: Rupee recovers 15 paisas against dollar in interbank
The experts said that the latest measures of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) had supported the rupee from free-fall. The SBP on January 05, 2022 made it mandatory for exporters to ensure export receipts within 120 days instead of 150 days.
READ MORE: SBP shortens period to 120 days for bringing export earnings
KARACHI: It has been made mandatory for banks to provide details of business accounts every month to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), official sources said on Wednesday.
This is the additional information to be submitted by the banks along with details already mandatory for the financial institutions.
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To make the requirement mandatory, Section 165A of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 has amended through Finance (Supplementary) Act, 2022.
A new clause (f) has been inserted to the Section 165A under which the banks shall provide a list of persons containing particulars of their business accounts opened or re-designated during each preceding calendar month.
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The Section 165A of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 deals with furnishing of information by banks:
“(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force including but not limited to the Banking Companies Ordinance, 1962 (LVII of 1962), the Protection of Economic Reforms Act, 1992 (XII of 1992), the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947 (VII of 1947) and the regulations made under the State Bank of Pakistan Act, 1956 (XXXIII of 1956), if any, on the subject every banking company shall make arrangements to provide to the Board in the prescribed form and manner,—
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(a) a list of persons containing particulars of cash withdrawals exceeding fifty thousand Rupees in a day and tax deductions thereon, aggregating to Rupees one million or more during each preceding calendar month;
(b) a list containing particulars of deposits aggregating rupees ten million or more made during the preceding calendar month;
(c) a list of payments made by any person against bills raised in respect of a credit card issued to that person, aggregating to rupees two hundred thousand or more during the preceding calendar month;
(d) a list of persons receiving profit on debt and tax deductions thereon during preceding financial year.
(e) omitted
(2) Each banking company shall also make arrangements to nominate a senior officer at the head office to coordinate with the Board for provision of any information and documents in addition to those listed in sub-section (1), as may be required by the Board.
(3) The banking companies and their officers shall not be liable to any civil, criminal or disciplinary proceedings against them for furnishing information required under this Ordinance.
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(4) Subject to section 216, all information received under this section shall be used only for tax purposes and kept confidential.
Tax experts at PwC A. F. Ferguson & Co. said that the change is in-line with the requirement for declaration of the business bank account under the provisions of section 114A introduced through the Finance Act, 2021 and is a step towards documentation of the economy.
KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has facilitated exporters and banks by digitizing the process for obtaining refinance under Export Finance Scheme (EFS).
The process has been digitized for both conventional and Shariah compliant versions, the SBP said on Wednesday.
READ MORE: SBP warns banks of penal action for delaying transaction alerts
Digitization of the refinance process is envisioned to effectively use technology for enhancing operational efficiency. Now EFS related cases and other relevant data will be submitted electronically to State Bank by banks through an online platform for expeditious regulatory decisions.
Initially, the digitized process of EFS cases will run in parallel with existing manual submission for a short period. Thereafter, the paper based submission of cases by banks will permanently give way to electronic submission of cases.
READ MORE: SBP wins IFN global award for promoting Islamic finance
This online platform will also enable banks to track the updated status of EFS related cases submitted to SBP/SBPBSC, on real time basis. Banks will be able to retrieve the system‐generated reports for updated status for onward sharing with their customers.
The implementation of digitization of EFS functions will enable SBP to delegate some of the operations to banks, such as sub-allocation of EFS limits by banks as per their own requirements. Under digitized mechanism, there will be no need of transferring an exporter’s limit from one SBP BSC office to another SBP BSC office. This will ensure swift processing of EFS cases and benefit the banks / exporters availing financing facility under EFS.
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The digitization of EFS functions is expected to conserve resources and bring efficiency by reducing turn-around time and replacing the paper based submissions of cases that are prone to logistic and storage issues. This initiative is a part of SBP’s Vision 2020, aiming to implement a modern framework for the retention and sharing of information and bring ease of doing business.
READ MORE: Last date extended to exchange old banknotes: SBP
KARACHI: The Pak Rupee (PKR) declined by four paisas against the dollar on Wednesday owing to dollar demand after surge in international oil prices.
The rupee ended Rs176.22 to the dollar from previous day’s closing of 176.18 in the interbank foreign exchange market.
READ MORE: Rupee declines by 26 paisas to dollar on import demand
Currency experts said that the dollar demand was increasing in the local market as international oil prices were gradually rising.
According to media reports Brent crude futures rose 80 cents, or 0.9 per cent, to $88.31 a barrel at 1035 GMT, adding to a 1.2 per cent jump in the previous session. The benchmark contract touched $89.05, its highest since October 13, 2014.
READ MORE: Rupee recovers 15 paisas against dollar in interbank
Pakistan is the net importer of petroleum products. The country’s oil import bill surged by 113.39 per cent to $10.18 billion during first half (July – December) of the current fiscal year as compared with $4.77 billion in the corresponding half of the last fiscal year.
READ MORE: NBP directed to pay Rs0.5 million to fraud victim
The experts said that the latest rise in international oil price had offset the measures taken by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) regarding realization of export receipts. The SBP on January 05, 2022 made it mandatory for exporters to ensure their receipts within 120 days instead of 150 days.
READ MORE: SBP shortens period to 120 days for bringing export earnings
KARACHI: The Pak Rupee (PKR) declined by 26 paisas against the US dollar on Tuesday due to higher foreign currency demand for import payment.
The local unite ended at Rs176.18 to the dollar from last day’s closing of Rs175.92 in the interbank foreign exchange market.
READ MORE: Rupee recovers 15 paisas against dollar in interbank
Currency experts said that the market witnessed higher dollar demand since start of the day. The reports of surge in international oil prices increased the dollar demand.
The international oil prices witnessed significant rise and recorded $87.50 per barrel during the trading.
READ MORE: SBP warns banks of penal action for delaying transaction alerts
Pakistan is one of the major importers of petroleum products. The oil import grew by 113 per cent to $10.18 billion during first half 2021/2022 as compared with $4.77 billion in the corresponding half of the last fiscal year.
The experts said that the falling foreign exchange reserves were also a major threat for rupee’s stability in days ahead.
READ MORE: NBP directed to pay Rs0.5 million to fraud victim
The foreign exchange reserves of the country fell by $118 million to $23.901 billion by the week ended January 07, 2022 as compared with $24.019 billion by the week ended December 31, 2021.
The official reserves of the SBP declined by $88 million to $17.598 billion by the week ended January 07, 2022 as compared with $17.686 billion a week ago.
READ MORE: SBP shortens period to 120 days for bringing export earnings
KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday warned commercial banks of harsh penal action for delaying transmitting transaction alerts to their account holders.
(more…)KARACHI: The Pak Rupee recovered 15 paisas against the dollar on Monday owing to import restrictions measures introduced through the mini-budget.
The rupee ended Rs175.92 to the dollar from last Friday’s closing of Rs176.07 in the interbank foreign exchange market.
READ MORE: Dollar falls 31 paisas to PKR in interbank
Currency experts said that the implementation of Finance (Supplementary) Bill, 2021 has positively impacted the foreign currency market.
They said that the higher rates of duty and taxes imposed through the bill had discouraged the dollar demand.
The government on December 30, 2021 tabled the Finance (Supplementary) Bill, 2021. The bill was adopted by the National Assembly and was granted ascent by the President last week.
READ MORE: Finance (Supplementary) Bill gets presidential approval
They further said that the US markets were closed on Monday which reduced the import payment demand. The US markets were observing the holiday on account of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The currency experts said that the measures taken by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) related to reducing days for realizing export receipts also helped the rupee to make gain.
READ MORE: SBP shortens period to 120 days for bringing export earnings
They however said that the higher import bill and falling foreign exchange reserves remained major challenges for the rupee stability in coming days.
KARACHI: The US dollar fell by 31 paisas against the Pak Rupee (PKR) on Friday owing to improved supply of the foreign currency.
The interbank foreign exchange market ended at Rs176.07 to the dollar from the previous day’s closing of Rs176.38.
Currency experts said that the market witnessed sufficient supply of dollars by the commercial banks to feed the demand for import payments. They said that dollar demand remained high due to the last trading day of the week.
The experts said that positive sentiments also prevailed following the National Assembly passing the Finance (Supplementary) Bill, 2021 a day earlier. The bill contained several import restrictions through imposition of duty and taxes on non-essential and luxury items.
They said that recent measures introduced by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) had also helped the rupee to recover against the foreign currency. The SBP on January 05, 2022 directed exporters to realise their export receipts within 120 days from date of shipment instead of 150 days.
The experts said that falling foreign exchange reserves and rising oil prices in the international market remained a challenge for the rupee’s stability in the coming days.
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has won the best bank award for promoting Islamic finance announced by Islamic Finance News (IFN), an arm of RED money Group, Malaysia.
The IFN announced the SBP as the best Central Bank of 2021 across the world in promoting Islamic finance. The results of global voting were disclosed today. IFN Best Banks Poll is regarded as one of the prestigious accolades in the global Islamic finance space. Bank Negara Malaysia stood second while the Saudi Central Bank secured third position.
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The category of the Best Central Bank in promoting Islamic Finance is one of the closely fought contests among regulators competing for supremacy through exceptional advances made during the year. SBP is honored to have won this award for the 5th time during last seven years.
Previously, SBP was bestowed with this coveted award for the year 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2020. IFN in its cover story while congratulating State Bank of Pakistan for yet another win as the Best Central Bank in Promoting Islamic Finance stated that they welcome back a leading light of the industry. In a closely fought contest, 2020’s victor came roaring back to take the crown, said the IFN.
READ MORE: Last date extended to exchange old banknotes: SBP
IFN while announcing the poll result also stated that with its Governor, Dr Reza Baqir, recently promoted to be the new chairman of the Council of the IFSB, from his role as the Deputy Chairman in 2021, they can hopefully look forward to even stronger support and leadership from the central bank over the coming year.
The IFN Award to SBP as the best central bank is the global endorsement of its initiatives for promotion of Islamic banking in the country. The award reflects an international recognition of the strategic measures undertaken by SBP to put in place a robust policy environment for Islamic banking to prosper.
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The State Bank of Pakistan has consistently promoted and encouraged Islamic finance within Pakistan, and has taken several significant steps. These include launch of 3rd five year Strategic Plan for Islamic banking 2021-25, Shariah compliant standing ceiling facility and open market operations, strengthening of Shariah governance mechanism, Shariah compliant regulations for the lender of the last resort (LOLR) facility and licensing regime for digital banking covering the Islamic segment; besides taking initiatives for promoting better awareness amongst the masses, and strengthening international linkages. The Strategic plan 2021-25 envisages to take Islamic banking share of 30% in terms of assets and 35% in terms of deposits in the overall banking system.
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Amidst the COVID-19 chaos throwing unforeseen challenges to the global financial market, Islamic banking industry in Pakistan continued to maintain its impressive growth trajectory and assets and deposits of Islamic banking industry grew on year-on-year basis by 28.2% and 26% respectively by September 30, 2021. The market share of Islamic banking assets and deposits stood at 17% and 18.6% respectively of the overall banking system in the country as of September 30, 2021. The industry operates through a huge network of 3,651 branches and 1,579 Islamic banking windows (dedicated counters at conventional branches) steered by twenty-two (22) Islamic Banking Institutions (IBIs) which include 5 full-fledged Islamic banks and 17 conventional banks having dedicated Islamic Banking Branches and windows. The industry is growing on the back of continued support by the Government of Pakistan which remains committed to provide an enabling platform for this industry to operate.