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 State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is set to unveil its monetary policy for the upcoming two months on Tuesday, January 28, 2020, as confirmed by a statement released on Tuesday.
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KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday said any laxity by banks in collection of donations for Dam Funds will tantamount to contempt of court.
“The apex court of the country [Supreme Court of Pakistan] is monitoring progress in the matter of donations to the Fund. Any laxity by banks or their staff at branches will attract penal action and may also tantamount to contempt of court,” the SBP said.
The banks are therefore, advised to ensure meticulous compliance of above instructions and extend full cooperation to donors in deposit of their donations/contributions, the SBP added.
The central bank said that in a recent hearing of the subject case, the Honorable Supreme Court of Pakistan has observed that there are complaints that banks are not accepting donations from people contributing to the Dam Fund, and are also not actively facilitating donors in remittance of the funds stuck abroad.
In order to address the issues being faced by donors, banks are advised to ensure that the arrangements made for collection of donations and contributions to the Dam Fund shall remain in place at every bank branch on an ongoing basis; requiring all concerned to provide necessary support and facilitation to donors.
The banks are further directed to ask their overseas branches to facilitate the donors in depositing and remittance of donations to the Fund in accordance with the legal and regulatory framework of concerned jurisdiction.
The banks shall display SBP’s helpline number and email address on their websites and branch notice boards for lodging of complaints by donors if they face any difficulty in depositing and contributing to the Fund.
KARACHI: The Pak Rupee ended down by three paisas against dollar on Monday due to increase in demand for the foreign currency by importers and corporate buyers.
The rupee ended at Rs154.60 to the dollar from last Friday’s closing of Rs154.57 in interbank foreign exchange market.
The currency dealers said that the demand for the foreign currency was higher as market resumed trading after two days weekly holidays.
The foreign currency market was initiated in the range of Rs154.58 and Rs154.62. The market recorded day high of Rs154.66 and low of Rs154.54 and closed at Rs4154.60.
The exchange rate in open market witnessed stable rupee value. The buying and selling of dollar was recorded at Rs154.50/Rs154.80, the same last Friday’s closing, in cash ready market.
KARACHI: The Pak Rupee gained nine paisas against dollar on Friday owing to significant foreign inflows in debt market, dealers said.
The rupee ended Rs154.57 to the dollar as compared with previous day’s closing of Rs154.66 in interbank foreign exchange market.
The dealers said that the debt market witnessed record single day investment.
The debt market witnessed investment of $536 million in treasury bills on Friday.
The market was initiated in the range of Rs154.57 and Rs154.62. The market recorded day high of Rs154.62 and low of Rs154.56 and closed at Rs154.57.
The exchange rates in open market also witnessed appreciation in rupee value.
The buying and selling of dollar at Rs154.50/Rs154.80 from previous day’s closing of Rs154.60/Rs154.90 in cash ready market.
KARACHI: The Pak Rupee gained 12 paisas against dollar on Thursday owing to sufficient supply of the greenback in the market.
The rupee ended Rs154.66 to the dollar from previous day’s closing of Rs154.78 in interbank foreign exchange market.
Currency dealers said that the market witnessed sufficient supply of dollar during the day. The inflows helped the rupee to gain the value against the foreign currency.
The foreign currency market was initiated in the range of Rs154.76 and Rs154.79. The market recorded day high of Rs154.77 and low of Rs154.66 and closed at Rs154.66.
The exchange rate in open market also witnessed appreciation in local currency.
The buying and selling of the dollar was recorded at Rs154.60/Rs154.90 from previous day’s closing of Rs154.70/Rs155.00 in cash ready market.
KARACHI: The Pak Rupee gained seven paisas against dollar on Wednesday owing to inflows of export receipts and workers remittances, dealers said.
The rupee ended Rs154.78 to the dollar from previous day’s closing of Rs154.85 in interbank foreign exchange market.
The dealers said that the rupee was appreciated owing to inflows of export receipts and workers remittances. They said that improved economic indicators helped the rupee to gain.
The foreign currency market was initiated in the range of Rs154.85 and Rs154.89. The market recorded day high of Rs154.85 and low of Rs154.78 and closed at Rs154.78.
The exchange rate in open market witnessed stable rupee value. The buying and selling of the dollar was recorded at Rs154.70/Rs155.00, the same previous day’s level, in cash ready market.
KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has imposed monetary penalty on five banks including Summit Bank, Habib Metropolitan Bank, MCB Bank, National Bank of Pakistan and Bank Alfalah for violating regulatory environment.
The central bank on Tuesday issued significant enforcement measures by imposing monetary penalty on banks for violating rules, regulations and other regulatory environment.
The SBP imposed Rs219.138 million as penalty on five banks during the month of December 2019 for violating mainly regulations related to foreign trade operations, Customers Due Diligence (CDD) and Know Your Customer (KYC).
The SBP from July 2019 started public disclosure of penal action against banks. “Enforcement actions are an integral part of regulatory regime which involves imposition of monetary penalties and other actions against institutions and individuals for violations of laws, rules, regulations, guidelines or directives issued by SBP from time to time,” according to a circular issued by the central bank.
In order to bring more transparency and strengthen market discipline, SBP has decided to publicly disclose significant enforcement actions
With the latest penal action the total amount of penalty during first six months (July – December) 2019 increased to Rs1,569 million.
According to the highlights of significant enforcement actions by the SBP during December 2019, the central bank imposed Rs219.138 million as monetary penalties.
The central bank on December 11, 2019 imposed penalty amount of Rs17.422 million on Summit Bank Limited for procedural violations in the area of foreign exchange operations.
“Monetary penalty was imposed on deficiencies in the area of foreign trade operations,” the SBP said.
The central bank on December 11, 2019 imposed an amount of Rs34.578 million on Habib Metropolitan Bank Limited for violating CDD/KYC.
“In addition to penal action, the bank has been advised timelines to bring improvements in its systems/controls to avoid recurrence of such violations in future.”
The SBP on December 12, 2019 imposed penalty of Rs49.499 million on MCB Bank Limited for procedural violations in the area of foreign exchange operation.
“Monetary penalty was imposed on deficiencies in the area of foreign trade operations.”
The SBP on December 18, 2019 imposed monetary penalty of Rs21.544 million on National Bank of Pakistan for violating CDD/KYC.
“In addition to penal action, the bank has been advised timelines to bring improvements in its systems/controls to avoid recurrence of such violations in future.”
The SBP on December 23, 2019 imposed monetary penalty of Rs96.095 million on Bank Alfalah Limited for violating KYC/CFT.
“In addition to penal action, the bank has been advised to conduct an internal inquiry on certain breaches/violation of regulatory requirements. Further, the bank has been advised to strengthen its process related to KYC/CDD, in order to avoid recurrence of such violations in future.”
KARACHI: The Pak Rupee ended unchanged against dollar on Tuesday amid high demand for import and corporate payments.
The rupee ended Rs154.85 to the dollar, the same previous day’s closing, in interbank foreign exchange market.
Currency dealers said that the market witnessed higher demand for dollar early in the day. However, the inflows of remittances and export receipts helped the rupee to maintain level.
The foreign currency market was initiated in the range of Rs154.87 and Rs154.92. The market recorded day high of Rs154.87 and low of Rs154.84 and closed at Rs154.85.
The exchange rate in open market also witnessed no change in rupee value. The buying and selling of the dollar was recorded at Rs154.70/Rs155.00, the same previous day’s closing, in cash ready market.
KARACHI: The Pak Rupee ended down by two paisas against dollar on Monday amid higher demand for import and corporate payments.
The rupee ended at Rs154.85 to the dollar from last Friday’s closing of Rs154.83 in interbank foreign exchange market.
Currency dealers said that the market initiated with higher demand for dollars. The demand was higher due to opening of the market after two weekly holidays.
The foreign currency market was initiated in the range of Rs154.85 and Rs154.90. The market recorded day high of Rs154.89 and low of Rs154.84 and closed at Rs154.85.
The exchange rate in open market however, witnessed appreciation in rupee value. The buying and selling of dollar recorded at Rs154.70/Rs155.00 as compared with last Friday’s closing of Rs155.00/Rs155.40 in cash ready market.
KARACHI: People can surrender Rs40,000 denomination bearer prize bonds by March 31, 2020 and exchange the amount with registered bonds or other given options.
The SBP stopped the issuance of Rs40,000 denomination prize bonds on June 24, 2019 and given deadline of March 31, 2020 for exchange the such denomination with other registered mode of investment.
Since the announcement of the central bank, the holders of bearer bonds had surrendered around Rs238 billion till November 2019.
The total investment Rs40,000 denomination bearer bonds peaked at Rs258 billion by May 2019, which reduced to around Rs20 billion by November 2019.
SBP stops banks selling Rs40,000 prize bonds, issues procedure for conversion into registered bonds
The SBP in a notification issued in June 2019 issued the following instructions regarding handling of Rs.40,000/- denomination National Prize Bonds are issued herewith for information, guidance and meticulous compliance:
a) National Prize Bonds of Rs.40,000/- denomination shall not be sold after June 24, 2019 and will not be encashed/redeemed after March 31, 2020.
b) No further draws of Rs.40,000/-denomination National Prize Bonds shall be held.
c) Cash payment for encashments of bonds is not allowed. However, the bond holder (s) shall have the following options to replace / encash these bonds:
1. Conversion of premium prize bonds (registered)
2. Replacement with special saving certificate (SSC)/Defence Saving Certificate (DSC)
3. Encashment at face value.
d) Appended below is the SOP for processing requests under the aforementioned options for compliance by all banks:
Conversion to Premium Prize Bonds (Registered)
i. The bonds can be converted to premium prize bonds (registered) through the 16 field offices of SBP Banking Services Corporation, and authorized branches of six commercial banks i.e. National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), Habib Bank Limited (HBL), United Bank Limited (UBL), MCB Bank Limited (MCB), Allied Bank Limited (ABL) and Bank Alflah Limited (BAFL).
ii. The bond holder shall be required to submit a written request for conversion of bearer bonds to premium prize bonds (registered) to be registered in his (her) name on the prescribed application.
iii. The bond holder shall also be required to submit prescribed applications forms for registrations / purchase of premium prize bond as per the procedure in vogue.
Replacement with the Special Saving Certificate (SSC)/Defence Saving 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 as well as the authorized commercial bank branches.
ii. All commercial banks shall receive requests for encashment of bearer bonds on the prescribed application form.
A copy of the application form, duly signed and stamped, shall be provided to the bondholder as an acknowledgement receipt.
The SBP said that it is needless to mention that the National Prize Bonds of Rs40,000 denomination tendered at the counters of banks shall be subject to through scrutiny to ascertain their genuineness. In this regard, details regarding the security features in Rs40,000 denomination National Prize Bonds are available online.
Moreover, the prize bonds encashed / replaced by general public may be surrendered to concerned SBP BSC office through respective regional office of the commercial banks. For the purpose, the regional office may intimate the SBP BSC office three days in advance so that necessary arrangements for receipt of the bonds can be made.
It is imperative to mention that a notice regarding the above / mentioned facilities must be displayed at prominent places within branch premises for awareness and information of general public.