Karachi, May 25, 2025 – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has imposed rigorous new conditions on the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) regarding the provision of foreign exchange data, as part of Pakistan’s commitments under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF).
These requirements significantly tighten the oversight of SBP’s exchange rate practices and foreign exchange operations.
According to official sources, the IMF now mandates that the SBP provide comprehensive daily exchange rate data from both the interbank foreign exchange market and the open market. The SBP must submit market exchange rates, including both buying and selling rates, as well as the weighted average customer exchange rate. This includes daily and monthly data on trade volumes and the high and low exchange rates recorded in both the interbank and kerb (open) markets.
This increased transparency is part of the IMF’s broader objective to ensure Pakistan maintains a market-determined exchange rate regime. The IMF has made it clear that timely and accurate information is essential to monitor the country’s compliance with the program’s structural benchmarks.
The IMF has also insisted that the SBP provide detailed reports on foreign exchange operations, including any interventions in the market. This includes distinguishing outright purchases or sales from those related to forward contracts, with data to be submitted within a day of the transactions. These operations must be clearly categorized between spot transactions and forward transactions, with the volume and nature of each intervention specified.
Furthermore, the SBP must share a daily summary of its operations involving the domestic currency in swap and forward contracts. This includes initial outstanding positions, daily transaction summaries, and end-of-day positions. These detailed submissions will allow the IMF to keep a close watch on any indirect efforts to influence the exchange rate.
To support its monitoring framework, the IMF also demands extensive interbank market statistics. The SBP is required to provide data on spot and forward transactions in US dollars, including the total value transacted, number of deals, participating banks, and statistical metrics such as the weighted average price, simple mean, and standard deviations of both prices and values. These statistics must be submitted on a daily basis.
In addition, the SBP must report aggregated commercial bank transactions, separated into gross sales and purchases, by the third working day of each following week. Information on pending dividend and profit repatriation payments that have cleared regulatory procedures must be submitted within a week.
Monthly reports must also include a consolidated balance sheet of commercial banks, the SBP’s own balance sheet at both actual and program exchange rates, and the outstanding forward/swap positions categorized by maturity and counterparty. Data on Pakistan’s Net International Reserves (NIR), as defined by the Technical Memorandum of Understanding (TMU), must also be submitted, with a detailed breakdown by currency and nostro balances with the foreign branches of the National Bank of Pakistan.
With these requirements, the IMF is significantly tightening its grip on Pakistan’s monetary operations. The SBP, under pressure to maintain transparency and discipline, is now at the forefront of implementing reforms intended to stabilize the currency and rebuild foreign reserves.
As the SBP navigates these complex reporting obligations, its relationship with the IMF will be critical to Pakistan’s macroeconomic stability and future disbursements under the ongoing EFF program.