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.
The Pakistani Rupee demonstrated resilience, gaining 72 paisas against the US Dollar on Wednesday. The surge is attributed to the sustained growth in export receipts witnessed throughout the current fiscal year.
(more…)KARACHI: The US dollar retreated for seventh consecutive trading days after falling another 19 paisas against the local unit on Tuesday.
The exchange rate was at Rs159.10 on February 19, 2021. Since then the local currency recovered Rs1.25 against the dollar in interbank foreign exchange market.
On Tuesday the rupee closed at Rs157.85 to the dollar from previous day’s closing of Rs158.04 in the interbank foreign exchange market.
Currency experts said that with the dip of 19 paisas the US dollar was at nearly one-year low in Interbank, trading at Rs157.85 as it was Rs157.35 on March 10, 2020. The dollar has fallen by 6.4 percent since its peak lost around Rs10.58 since August 26, 2020 when it was at record high of Rs168.43.
The currency experts said that the rupee may make more gains in coming days owing to improved inflows of workers’ remittances and export receipts.
ISLAMABAD: Investors have redeemed/enchased to the tune of Rs115 billion against bearer prize bonds of Rs25,000 denomination which were suspended by the government in December 2020.
According to state media on Tuesday, the Central Directorate of National Savings (CDNS) had paid encashment of Rs 115 billion by February 28 to the investors against the suspension of prize bonds of Rs 25,000.
An official of the CDNS quoted as saying that around Rs 115 billion had been paid to the customers during last three months and remaining 45 billion out of total Rs 160 billion would also be paid by May 30, 2021.
On December 10, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) issued following instructions to the president and CEOs of all commercial banks regarding option to replace / encash the bonds:
i. The Bonds can be converted to Rs. 25,000/-denomination Premium Prize Bonds (Registered) through the 16 field offices of SBP Banking Services Corporation, and branches of six authorized commercial banks i.e. National Bank of Pakistan, Habib Bank Limited, United Bank Limited, MCB Bank Limited, Allied Bank Limited and Bank Alfalah Limited.
ii. The authorized commercial banks shall also issue Rs. 25,000/-denomination Premium Prize Bonds (Registered)as per the prescribed procedure, with immediate effect. Stock of the same has already been delivered to authorized commercial banks.
iii. The bondholder shall be required to submit a written request for conversion of bearer bonds to Rs. 25,000/-Premium Prize Bonds (Registered) on the prescribed application form.
iv. The bondholder shall also be required to submit prescribed application forms for registration / purchase of Premium Prize Bonds as per the procedure in vogue.
Replacement with Special Savings Certificate (SSC) / Defence Savings Certificate (DSC)
i. The Bonds can be replaced with SSC / DSC through the 16 field offices of SBP Banking Services Corporation, authorized commercial banks and National Savings Centers.
ii. All authorized commercial banks shall, therefore, accept requests for replacement of bearer bonds with SSC or DSC on the prescribed application form.
iii. The bondholder shall also be required to submit application form for purchase of SSC / DSC (SC-1) as per the prescribed procedure
Encashment at Face Value
i. The Bonds will only be encashed by transferring the proceeds to the bond holder`s bank account through the 16 field offices of SBP Banking Services Corporation, at authorized commercial bank branches and to the Savings Accounts at National Savings Centres.
ii. All commercial banks shall receive requests for encashment of bearer bonds on the prescribed application form.
A copy of the application form (Annexure A), duly signed and stamped, shall be provided to the bondholder as an acknowledgement receipt.
Moreover, the prize bonds encashed / replaced by the general public may be surrendered to the concerned SBP BSC office through the respective regional office of the commercial bank.
The government has already canceled prize bonds of Rs 40,000 and CDNS repaid to the investors the encashment worth of Rs 258 billion in 2019-20.
KARACHI: The Pak Rupee gained six paisas against the dollar on Monday owing to better inflows of the foreign exchange, dealers said.
The rupee ended at Rs158.04 to the dollar from last Friday’s closing of Rs158.10 in the interbank foreign exchange market.
It was the sixth straight trading day when the rupee maintained its recovery against the greenback. The exchange rate was at Rs159.10 on February 19, 2021. However, since then the local currency recovered Re1.06 against the greenback in the interbank foreign exchange market.
Currency experts said that the rupee may make more gains in coming days owing to improved inflows of workers’ remittances and export receipts.
KARACHI: During investigation of a case before the Banking Mohtasib Pakistan, a bank revealed that one of its branch manager committed fraud of an amount Rs30 million involving 29 customers.
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KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has updated the list of panel of chartered accountancy firms for conducting audit of banking companies.
The SBP through a circular issued on Friday informed that “RSM Avais Hyder Liaquat Nauman, Chartered Accountants’, listed in the Category ‘B’ of SBP’s Panel of Auditors is being upgraded to the Category ‘A’ of the panel.
The central bank also enlisted two chartered accountancy firms in the category ‘C’ of the SBP’s Panel of auditors with an immediate effect:
J.A.S.B & Associates, Chartered Accountants 1104, Uni Tower, I.I. Chundrigar Road, Karachi. Phone: 021-32468154-55 Web: www.jasb-associates.com
Mazars M.F. & Co., Chartered Accountants 3rd Floor, 44-C, Badar Commercial, Street 10, DHA Phase V, Karachi. Phone: 021-35342801-06, Web: www.mazars.pk
The SBP issued the updated list of chartered accountancy firms:
Category ‘A”
Audit Firms in Category “A” are eligible to conduct audit of all Banks and DFIs
A1. A.F. Ferguson & Co. State Life Building No. 1/C, I.I. Chundrigar Road, Karachi. Tel: +92 (021) 32426711-15, Fax: +92 (021) 32415007, Web: www.affco.com.pk
A2. Baker Tilly Mehmood Idrees Qamar, 4th Floor, Central Hotel Building, Civil Lines, Mereweather Road, Karachi. Tel: +92 (021) 35644872-77, Fax: +92 (021) 35694573 Email: [email protected], Web: www.bakertillymiq.com.
A3. BDO Ebrahim & Co. 2nd Floor, Block ‘C’ Lakson Square, Building No. 1, Sarwar Shaheed Road, Karachi. Tel: +92 (021) 35683030 Fax: +92 (021) 35684239 Email: [email protected] Web: www.bdo.com.pk
A4. Crowe Hussain Chaudhury & Co. 25-E, Main Market, Gulberg II, Lahore. Tel: +92 (042) 37759223-5 Fax: +92 (042) 35759226 Email: [email protected] Web: www.crowe.pk
A5. EY Ford Rhodes, 6th Floor, Progressive Plaza, Beaumont Road, Karachi. Tel: +92 (021) 111-113-937 Fax: +92 (021) 35681965 E. mail: [email protected] Web: www.ey.com
A6. Grant Thornton Anjum Rahman, 1st & 3rd Floor, Modern Motors House, Beaumont Road, Karachi. Tel: +92 (021) 35672951-56 Fax: +92 (021) 35688834 Email: [email protected] Web: www.gtpak.com
A7. Ilyas Saeed & Co. A-4, Sea Breeze Homes, Shershah Block, New Garden Town, Lahore. Tel: +92 (042) 35861852, 35868849 Fax: +92 (042) 35856145 Email: [email protected] Web: www.ilyassaeed.com
A8. KPMG Taseer Hadi & Co. 1st Floor, Sheikh Sultan Trust Building No. 2, Beaumount Road, Karachi. Tel: +92 (021) 35685847 Fax: +92 (021) 35685095 Email: [email protected] Web: www.kpmg.com.pk
A9. Kreston Hyder Bhimji & Co. Suite No. 1601, 16th Floor, Kashif Centre, Main Shahrah-e-Faisal, Karachi. Tel: +92 (021) 35640050-52 Fax: +92 (021) 35640053 Email: [email protected] Web: www.krestonhb.com
A10. Muniff Ziauddin & Co. F/17/3, Business Executive Centre, Block No. 8, Clifton, Karachi. Tel: +92 (021) 35375127-28, 35872283 Fax: +92 (021) 35820325 Email: [email protected] Web: www.mzco.com.pk
A11. Naveed Zafar Ashfaq Jaffery & Co. 1st Floor, Modern Motors House, Beaumount Road, Karachi. Tel: +92 (021) 111-774-422, 35671909 Fax: (021) 5210626 Email: [email protected] Web: www.nzaj.com.pk
A12. Rahman Sarfaraz Rahim Iqbal Rafiq, Rahman Sarfaraz House, 54-P, Gulberg II, Lahore. Tel: +92 (042) 35875965-67 Fax: +92 (042) 35758621 Email: [email protected] Web: www.rsrir.com
A13. Riaz Ahmad & Co. 10-B, Saint Mary Park, Main Boulevard, Gulberg III, Lahore. Tel: +92 (042) 35718137-39 Fax: +92 (042) 35718136 Email: [email protected] Web: www.racopk.com
A14. RSM Avais Hyder Liaquat Nauman, Suite No. 407, Progressive Plaza, Beaumont Road, Karachi. Tel: +92 (021) 35655975-76 Fax: +92 (021) 35655977 Email: [email protected] Web: www.rsm.global/pakistan
A15. Yousuf Adil, Cavish Court, A-35, Block 7 & 8, K.C.H.S.U. Shahrah-e-Faisal, Karachi. Tel: +92 (021) 34546494-97 Fax: +92(021) 34541314 Email: [email protected] Web: www.yousufadil.com
Category ‘B’
Audit Firms in Category “B” are eligible to conduct audit of Banks and DFIs having assets up to Rupees 100 billion or branches up to 160.
B1. Amin Mudassar & Co. 4th Floor, IEP Building, 97-B/D-1, Main Boulevard, Gulberg III, Lahore. Tel: +92 (042) 35717261-62 Fax: +92 (042) 35717263 Email: [email protected]
B2. Reanda Haroon Zakaria & Co. M1-M4, Mezzanine Floor, Progressive Plaza, Beaumont Road, Karachi. Tel: +92 (021) 35674741-44 Fax: +92 (021) 35674745 Email: [email protected] Web: www.hzco.com.pk
B3. HLB Ijaz Tabussum & Co. 303, Sawan Road, G-10/1, Islamabad. Tel: +92 (051) 32354801-03 Fax: +92 (051) 32354800 Email: [email protected]; [email protected]; Web: www.hlbitc.com
B4. IECnet S.K.S.S.S. Suite No. 209, Parsa Tower, PECHS Block 6, Main Shahrah-e-Faisal, Karachi. Tel: +92 (021) 34150811-13 Fax: +92 (021) 34150814 Email: [email protected] Web: www.iecnet.com.pk
B5. Mudassar Ehtisham & Co. 50/2, Lawrence Road, Lahore. Tel: +92 (042) 36370215, 35466618 Fax: +92 (042) 36363614 Email: [email protected] Web: www.mudassarehtisham.com
B6. Mushtaq & Co. 407, Commerce Centre, Maulana Hasrat Mohani Road, Karachi. Tel: +92 (021) 32638521-24 Email: [email protected]
B7. Nasir Javaid Maqsood Imran, Office No. 807, 8th Floor, Plot No. 11/2, Q.M. House, Ellander Road, Opp. Shaheen Complex, Off. I.I. Chundrigar Road, Karachi Tel: +92 (021) 32212382-83, 32211515-16 Fax: +92 (021) 32211515 Email: [email protected] Website: www.njmi.net
B8 Parker Randall – A.J.S. 6-C, 2nd Floor, ST Plaza, Kohinoor Town, College Road, Faisalabad. Tel: +92 (021) 32621703-04 Fax: +92 (021) 32621701 Email: [email protected] Web: www.parkerrandallajs.pk
B9. PKF F.R.A.N.T.S. 16/II, ‘N’ Lane, Commercial Avenue, Phase IV, D.H.A, Karachi. Tel: +92 (021) 35315275 Fax: +92 (021) 35315276 Email: [email protected] Website: www.pkf.com.pk
B10 Riaz Ahmad Saqib Gohar & Co. 5-Nasim, C.H.S. Major Nazir Bhatti Road, Off Shaheed-e-Millat Road, Karachi. Tel: +92 (021) 34945427, 34946112 Fax: +92 (021) 34932629 Email: [email protected] Web: www.rasgco.com
B11. ShineWing Hameed Chaudhri & Co. H.M. House No. 07, Bank Square, Off Shahrah-e-Quaid-e-Azam, Lahore. Tel: +92 (042) 37235084-87 Fax: +92 (042) 37235083 Email: [email protected] Website: www.hccpk.com
B12. Suriya Nauman Rehan & Co. House No. 02, Street No. 02, F-7/3, Islamabad. Tel: +92 (051) 32610931-32 Fax: +92 (051) 32610954 Email: [email protected] Web: www.nrcca.pk
B13. Tariq Abdul Ghani Maqbool & Co. 173-W, Block-2, P.E.C.H.S, Karachi Phone: +92 (021) 34322582-83, (021) 34322606-07 Fax: +92 (021) 34522492 Email: [email protected] Website: www.tagm.co
B14. UHY Hassan Naeem & Co. 193-A, Shah Jamal, Lahore. Tel: +92 (042) 35403550-51, 35403588 Fax: +92 (042) 35403599 Email: [email protected] Web: www.uhy-hnco.com
B15. Zahid Jamil & Co. 1st Floor, Al-Jamil, 7-Madina Town Ext, Kohinoor Chowk, Off. Jaranwala Road, Faisalabad. Tel: +92 (041) 38725065-68 Fax: +92 (041) 38725070 Email: [email protected] Web: www.zahidjamilco.com
Category ‘C’
Audit Firms in Category “C” are eligible to conduct audit of banks and DFIs having assets up to Rupees 15 billion or branches up to 30.
C1. Fazal Mahmood & Co. 147 – Shadman I, Lahore. Tel: +92 (042) 37426771-73 Fax: +92 (042) 37426774 Email: [email protected] Web: www.fmc.com.pk
C2. Feroze Sharif Tariq & Co. 4-N/4, Block No. 06, P.E.C.H.S. Karachi. Tel: +92 (021) 34540891, 34542607 Fax: +92 (021) 34540891 Email: [email protected]
C3. H.A.M.D & Co. 302, Land Mark Plaza, Mohammed Bin Qasim Road, Off I.I Chundrigar Road, Karachi. Tel: +92 (021) 32630651 Fax: +92 (021) 35872521 Email: [email protected]; [email protected]
C4. Ibrahim Shaikh & Co. 259-260 Panorama Centre, Fatima Jinnah Road, Saddar, Karachi. Tel: +92 (021) 35210577, 35671853 Fax: +92 (021) 35676591 Email: [email protected]
C5. J.A.S.B & Associates 1104, Uni Tower, I.I. Chundrigar Road, Karachi. Tel: +92 (021) 32468154-55 Fax: +92 (021) 32468157 Email: [email protected] Web: www.jasb-associates.com
C6. Junaidy Shoaib Asad 1/6-P, Block No. 06, P.E.C.H.S, Mohtarma Laeeq Begum Road, Off Shahra-e-Faisal. Karachi. Tel: +92 (021) 34371910-13 Fax: +92 (021) 34371916 Email: [email protected] Web: www.jsa.com.pk
C7. H.Y.K & Co. SKP House, 321 Upper Mall, Lahore. Tel: +92 (042) 111-772-000, 35789330-1 Fax: +92 (042) 35789182 Email: [email protected] Web: www.hyk.com.pk
C8. Khalid Majid Rehman & Co. 7-A, Street No. 65, F-8/3, Islamabad. Tel: +92 (051) 32287713-17 Fax: +92 (051) 32287710 Email: [email protected] Web: www.kmr.com.pk
C9. Mazars M.F. & Co. 44-C, 3rd Floor, Badar Commercial, Street 10, Phase V, DHA, Karachi. Tel: +92 (021) 35342801-06 Web: www.mazars.pk
C10. Qavi & Co. Suites No. 717 & 718, Caesars Tower, Shahrah-e-Faisal, Karachi. Tel: +92 (021) 32791966-68Fax: +92 (021) 32791969 Email: [email protected] Web: www.qaviandco.com
C11. Rafaqat Mansha Mohsin Dossani Masoom & Co. Suite No. 113, 3rd Floor, Hafeez Centre, A/34, K.C.H.S, Block No. 07 & 08, Shahrah-e-Faisal, Karachi. Tel: +92 (021) 34392361-62 Fax: +92 (021) 34320693 Email: [email protected] Web: www.mmdk.com.pk
C12. Sarwars, Office No. 12 & 14, 2nd Floor, Lahore Centre, 77-D, Main Boulevard, Gulberg III, Lahore. Tel: +92 (042) 35782920-22 Fax: +92 (042) 35773825 Email: [email protected] Web: www.saewarsca.com
C13. S. M. Suhail & Co. Suite No. 1001-1014, 10th Floor, Uni Centre, I.I. Chundrigar Road, Karachi Tel: +92 (021) 32414057, 32414163 Fax: +92 (021) 32416288 Email: [email protected], Web: www.smsco.pk
C14. Uzair Hammad Faisal & Co. 37- Main Gulberg, Lahore. Tel: +92 (042) 35877470, 35879310 Email: [email protected] Web: www.uhf.com.pk
KARACHI: The Pak Rupee maintained its recovery against the dollar for five consecutive trading days on Friday owing to optimism prevailed especially after FATF praised Pakistan for taking measures against money laundering and financing the terrorism.
The rupee gained by 36 paisas to close at Rs158.10 to the dollar on Friday as compared with previous day’s close of Rs158.46 in the interbank foreign exchange market.
Currency experts said that despite the last trading day of the week the rupee had gained value against the greenback. They said that though there was pressure on local currency due to demand of the dollar for import and corporate payments. However, supply was sufficient to meet the demand, they added.
They said that the FATF a day earlier decided to keep Pakistan in the grey list until June this year. However, remarks of the FATF panel were encouraging as Pakistan had shown strong commitment to deter money laundering and terror financing.
The exchange rate was at Rs159.10 on February 19, 2021. However, since then the local currency recovered Re1 against the greenback in the interbank foreign exchange market.
Currency experts said that the rupee may make more gains in coming days owing to improved inflows of workers’ remittances and export receipts.
KARACHI: United Bank Limited (UBL) on Thursday announced its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2020. The bank made provisioning and write-offs to the tune of Rs16.77 billion or 104 percent higher which trimmed its annual profit growth to 9.25 percent.
The bank announced an amount of Rs20.9 billion as profit after tax for the year ended December 31, 2020 as compared with Rs19.13 billion profit after tax in the preceding year.
The bank made provisioning and write-offs an amount of Rs16.77 billion for the year under review as compared with Rs8.22 billion in the preceding year.
UBL announced earnings per share at Rs17.07 for the year ended December 31, 2020 as compared with Rs8.22 in the preceding year.
Net interest income of the bank increased by 21.42 percent to Rs75 billion for the year under review as compared with Rs61.77 billion in the preceding year.
Total income of the bank posted 10.24 percent growth to Rs92 billion as against Rs83.45 billion.
Operating expenses of the bank were flat at Rs40.66 billion as compared with Rs40.21 billion.
UBL announced a final cash dividend for the year ended December 31, 2020 at Rs9.50 per share i.e. 95 percent. This is in addition to interim dividend already paid at Rs2.50 per share i.e. 25 percent.
KARACHI: A bank has deducted irrationally a huge amount as withholding tax from transactions made by an account holder.
(more…)KARACHI: The Banking Mohtasib has asked the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to restore the verification through biometric system for activation/re-activation of online banking services.
The non-availability of biometric verification system is creating unsafe environment for banking customers, according to annual report for the year 2020 issued by the office of Banking Mohtasib Pakistan on Thursday.
The Mohtasib said that the SBP vide its PSD Circular No. 9 of 2018, (dated November 28, 2018), made it mandatory for banks to have biometric verification at any branch of their banks for activation/ re-activation of online banking services, including internet/mobile banking for their customers.
The above instructions were suspended vide PSD Circular No. 2 of 2020 (dated March 18, 2020) which inter-alia was one of the measures to control the spread of pandemic of COVID-19.
However, it has been observed from complaints received in Banking Mohtasib Pakistan office that the fraudsters are taking advantage of suspension of bio-metric verification conditionality as since suspension the number of complaints relating to IBFT/internet banking transactions are increasing day by day.
“The SBP is, therefore, recommended to lift the suspension, if considered appropriate, or some alternate for bio-metric be introduced to reduce/avoid miseries of innocent account holders.”
In other recommendations to SBP, the Banking Mohtasib office pointed out systemic deficiencies and control weaknesses within banks.
Such weaknesses are brought to the attention of banks’ senior management. For issues of a serious nature, a report is submitted to the State Bank of Pakistan for action as it may consider appropriate.
Some of the issues which have been brought to the notice of State Bank of Pakistan for appropriate regulatory intervention are as under:
• It has been observed that instructions issued by SBP from time to time vide their different circulars are not followed by banks in letter and spirit. One of the reasons may be the inflow of variety of circulars and change in instructions or various modifications on the same subject which cannot be grasped / adopted by banks due to frequent changes in the instructions and influx of certain information from time to time.
It is, therefore, recommended that a Master Circular on each subject may be issued so that all the Instructions / modifications may be centralized and incorporated in a Master Circular in order to facilitate banks as well as all the stake holders.
• A comprehensive consumer complaints data is available, but at present it is dispersed among individual banks, SBP and Banking Mohtasib office. SBP and Banking Mohtasib Pakistan office have published some statistics in this regard, but there is a need for a consolidated data base of all consumer complaints which would facilitate the regulator as well as banks to better identify and address recurring problems and areas of weak controls. It is recommended that a data on all consumer complaints be made for effective analysis.
• Section 82 B (4) (b) of Part IV A of the Banking Companies Ordinance, 1962, confers the power and responsibility to the Banking Mohtasib to facilitate an amicable resolution of complaints after hearings. However, this is rendered impossible for the reason that the managers or officers of banks appearing at the hearing have no such authority from their institutions to negotiate and arrive at an amicable settlement and they tend to refer the simple issues to their Head Offices which not only delays the process of speedy justice, but also leads to a series of further communications.
Further, Banking Mohtasib Pakistan has noticed many instances where banks agree to make payment to complainants, but the process of their internal approval is largely found to be time consuming which defeats the very basic purpose of providing speedy justice.
The banks are thus required to make their complaint resolution mechanism compatible to relevant law to ensure prompt payment to the customer in case of complaints attaining finality under law or resolved by process of amicable settlement.
• Reducing of notice period of complaint from customers from 45 to 15 days as it appears to be a long period which deprives the Complainant from early resolution of their complaint.
• As per Section 82 D (1) of Banking Companies Ordinance, 1962, the Complainant is required to file his Complaint on Oath. However, It is suggested that amendment may be made in the relevant section and Complainant may be allowed to submit an undertaking instead of an attestation by the Oath Commissioner.