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Category: Money & Banking

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.

  • Bank holiday declared on January 01

    Bank holiday declared on January 01

    KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday declared bank holiday on January 01, 2021 on account of financial close of banking companies.

    In a circular issued to presidents and chief executives of all banks, development financial institutions and microfinance banks, the SBP informed that the central bank will remain closed for public dealing on Wednesday, January 1, 2020, which will be observed as ‘Bank Holiday’.

    All banks / DFIs / MFBs shall, therefore, remain closed for public dealing on the above date. However, all employees of banks / DFIs / MFBs will attend the office as usual, the SBP said.

  • Rupee ends flat against dollar

    Rupee ends flat against dollar

    KARACHI: The Pak Rupee eased by one paisa against the dollar on Tuesday as sufficient supply of the foreign currency was available during the day.

    The rupee ended at Rs160.39 to the dollar from last day’s closing of Rs160.38 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

    Currency dealers said that although demand for the foreign currency remained higher due to year ending. They said the supply of the greenback was sufficient to meet the demand.

    They said that due to year ending the demand for import and corporate payments was higher. They however said that the rupee may remain stable in the coming days.

  • Pakistan Mortgage Refinance Corporation signs master agreement with six banks

    Pakistan Mortgage Refinance Corporation signs master agreement with six banks

    KARACHI: A major step has been taken for the Government’s Naya Pakistan Housing Program and making affordable housing possible for all as Pakistan Mortgage Refinance Corporation (PMRC) signed a master guarantee agreements with six banks, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Monday.

    A Credit Guarantee Trust, with Pakistan Mortgage Refinance Corporation (PMRC) as Trustee, has been set up by the Government of Pakistan with the support of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and funded by the World Bank.

    In line with Government’s vision to promote affordable housing especially for the low- and informal-income segments, the Credit Guarantee Trust will provide risk coverage of up to 40% to primary mortgage financiers on first loss basis.

    The guarantee will partially alleviate the credit risk of primary mortgage financiers and provide a conducive environment for banks to finance housing for the low-income. Keeping in view the dynamics of mortgage market and to facilitate market growth, the scheme has been designed for both conventional and Islamic banks.

    PMRC as trustee today signed a Master Guarantee Agreement with six leading Islamic and conventional banks including Meezan Bank, Habib Bank, BankIslami, Faysal Bank, JS Bank and Soneri Bank. This is a major step for the Government’s Naya Pakistan Housing Program and making affordable housing possible for all.

    Speaking at the occasion, Deputy Governor SBP Jameel Ahmed said that the risk coverage of mortgage portfolio under Government Markup Subsidy facility provides due comfort to banks in extending housing finance to the low income segment for buying or construction of new houses.

    He urged the banking industry to benefit from this unprecedented facilitative environment and extend loans to their maximum potential. He also urged the PMRC to focus on developing secondary mortgage market through issuance of mortgage-backed securities in the capital market.

    The Deputy Governor SBP emphasized that all stakeholders needed to make concerted efforts to achieve the goal of providing housing to the common people. He lauded the efforts by financial institutions over the last few months under the umbrella of Steering Committee on housing and construction finance established by State Bank of Pakistan.

    Mudassir H. Khan, MD and CEO of PMRC, expressing his views said that this Credit Guarantee Scheme will pave the way for the banking industry to extend housing finance to the low income group, a market segment which has remained negligible for long.

    He said that PMRC has a role of a catalyst in mortgage market development in the country and for growth of affordable housing in the country. He thanked the Deputy Governor SBP for his leadership and support for this sector, the Ministry of Finance, the World Bank and NAPHDA towards making the Government and PM’s vision of affordable housing a reality. 

  • SBP directs banks to observe extended hours on Dec 31 to facilitate taxpayers

    SBP directs banks to observe extended hours on Dec 31 to facilitate taxpayers

    KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday directed banks to open their branches for extended hours on December 31, 2020 in order to facilitate taxpayers in payment of duty and taxes.

    In order to facilitate the collection of the government receipts/ duties/ taxes, it has been decided that the field offices of SBP Banking Services Corporation (SBP BSC) and authorized branches of National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) will observe extended banking hours till 9:00 P.M. on December 31, 2020 (Thursday), for which purpose a special clearing has been arranged at 6:00 P.M. on the same day by the NIFT, the SBP said.

    The SBP directed that all banks keep their concerned branches open on December 31, 2020 (Thursday) till such time that is necessary to facilitate the special clearing for Government transactions by the NIFT.

  • Rupee weakens by six paisas against dollar

    Rupee weakens by six paisas against dollar

    KARACHI: The Pak Rupee fell by six paisas against the dollar on Monday as the market opened after public and weekly holidays and witnessed higher demand for import and corporate payments.

    The rupee ended at Rs160.38 to the dollar from last Thursday’s closing of Rs160.32 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

    Currency dealers said that the rupee came under pressure during the day as the market opened after three days for public holiday on account of Qauid-e-Azam day and two weekly holidays.

    The demand remained higher during the day despite inflows of workers’ remittances and export receipts. However, these inflows were not sufficient to support the local unit.

  • SBP launches survey to analyze trends in remittances

    SBP launches survey to analyze trends in remittances

    KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday launched a survey of Overseas Pakistanis to analyze recent trends in remittances and the future outlook.

    The central bank launched the survey in collaboration with Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives (MPD&SI).

    The survey will be available to all Overseas Pakistanis globally till January 9, 2021.

    The survey attempts to assess underlying factors that may have affected recent remittances behavior, including switching from informal to formal channels, from brick and mortar outlets to digital platforms, future plans of moving back to Pakistan, as well as the amount of remittances they expect to send in the next six months.

    With the support of the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development (MOPHRD), Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and Pakistan Remittance Initiative (PRI), this survey is being conducted simultaneously at Pakistani Consulates and Embassies, Overseas Bank Branches of Pakistani Banks as well as online.

    SBP and MPD&SI encourage Overseas Pakistanis to actively participate in this short online survey. The survey is very easy to access through the following web link: https://surveyctosbp.surveycto.com/collect/survey_on_recent_remittance_behavior_of_overseas_pakistanis?caseid

  • Rupee gains 23 paisas against dollar

    Rupee gains 23 paisas against dollar

    KARACHI – The Pakistani Rupee strengthened by 23 paisas against the US dollar on Thursday, driven by an adequate supply of the greenback to meet import and corporate demand, according to market dealers.

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  • Rupee strengthens by 13 paisas on dollar supply

    Rupee strengthens by 13 paisas on dollar supply

    KARACHI: The Pak Rupee gained 13 paisas against the dollar on Wednesday on sufficient supply of the greenback to meet import and corporate demands, dealers said.

    The rupee ended Rs160.55 to the dollar from the previous day’s close of Rs160.68 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

    The dealers said that the rupee was appreciated after sufficient supply of the dollar in the market and it offset the demand for import and corporate payments.

    They said that the market had positively responded to current account surplus.

    The current account posted $1.64 billion surplus for the first five months of the current fiscal year as compared with a current account deficit of $1.74 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.

    The dealer said that the new type of coronavirus detected in the UK also spread fears across the globe. The importers are also cautious in making new orders amid the discovery of new type of the COVID.

    The currency experts hoped that the local unit would make gains in coming days despite year ending owing to improved economic indicators.

  • Banks may not responsible for customers’ security lapse

    Banks may not responsible for customers’ security lapse

    KARACHI: Depositors will require submitting a declaration to their financial service providers for taking responsibility for any security lapse and subsequent monetary losses related to their accounts.

    New account holders will give this declaration to banks from April 01, 2021. Under this declaration customers will be responsible for sharing their personal information which resulted in fraudulent activity and monetary losses.

    The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on December 14, 2020 issued regulations for further strengthening depositors’ protection. The regulations namely ‘Key Fact Statement for Deposit Products’ are aimed at increasing consumer comprehension about a banking product’s affordability and risks, leading to better decision-making.

    However, the regulations provide a sigh of relief to banking institutions as an annexure related to this clearly explain: “Safe custody of access tools to your [prospective account holder] account like ATM cards, PINs, Cheques, e-banking usernames, passwords; other personal information, etc. is your responsibility. Bank cannot be held responsible in case of a security lapse at the customer’s end.”

    At present a large number of people having bank accounts are receiving calls from fraudsters pretending themselves as bankers or officials from the SBP. Such fraudsters ask people to update their account details and demand secret information related to their accounts including identity, password, pin code etc. They further pressurize people that in case requirements are not provided then their bank account will be suspended. Having such serious calls many people compromise their information and lose a handsome amount within a short span of time.

    The central bank and commercial banks for a long time are running an awareness campaign that financial institutions never ask account holders to share any information on phone calls.

    “SBP never asks for any personal details regarding legal status, CNIC or any bank account details,” the central bank clearly mentioned on its website. Furthermore, banks have also displayed such messages on their official websites and aware people through the media.

    Despite these clear instructions of the SBP and commercial banks, people are sharing their information to such fake calls and losing money on a regular basis. On the other hand, banks were held responsible for the losses when customers made appeals before Banking Mohtasib.

    A customer declaration under ‘Key Fact Statement for Deposit Products’ will help banks to make strong defence in cases of security lapse and money losses.

  • Bank holiday announced

    Bank holiday announced

    KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Tuesday announced that the central bank would remain closed on December 25, 2020 (Friday) due to Quaid-e-Azam Day and Christmas.

    The SBP said that it will remain closed on December 25, 2020 (Friday) being a public holiday on the occasions of Quaid-e-Azam Day and Christmas, as declared by the Government of Pakistan.

    The commercial banks shall also observe the public holiday.