KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday issued the following Karachi Interbank Offered Rates (KIBOR) on November 08, 2021.
| Tenor | BID | OFFER |
| 1 – Week | 7.24 | 7.74 |
| 2 – Week | 7.28 | 7.78 |
| 1 – Month | 7.36 | 7.86 |
| 3 – Month | 8.33 | 8.58 |
| 6 – Month | 8.62 | 8.87 |
| 9 – Month | 8.87 | 9.37 |
| 1 – Year | 9.04 | 9.54 |
Karachi, November 08, 2021 – The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has unveiled the official exchange rates for customers as of November 08, 2021.
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KARACHI: The apex trade body of the country has alleged the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) for misguiding the ministry of commerce on Pak-Iran trade.
Mian Nasser Hyatt Maggo, President of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) in a statement on Saturday said that the SBP had misdirected the commerce ministry by advising against banking channels with Iran for sanctions-related concerns; and, not offering and advocating its due and required facilitative role for the barter trade. “Any State Bank should be an enabler of trade and growth; not a block and disruptor like SBP,” the FPCCI said.
The FPCCI chief hailed the Ministry of Commerce’s efforts to kick start barter trade with Iran on a mass scale; however, he has expressed his concerns and apprehensions pertaining to the conduct of the SBP for creating obstacles and showing inaction for the same.
Maggo maintained that when Europe, India and China can do barter trade with Iran, why Pakistan can not do that; while, Pakistan is at the greater advantage on the back of long border and geographical contiguity as compared to all other countries and regions.
Nasir Khan, VP FPCCI from Balochistan, emphasized that it is in the national interest of Pakistan to have barter trade with Iran and have marketplaces in the border areas of the two brotherly countries.
He added that he considers the conduct of the Governor SBP against the national interest and detrimental to the economic growth and prosperity of Pakistan.
Nasir Khan added that Pakistani exporters can export large quantities of rice, meat, pharmaceuticals and textiles to Iran and that can translate into upwards of equivalent of five billion dollars annually; which, in turn, will create millions of jobs.
Nasir Khan further said that the current Governor SBP is an imported one and is not taking care of Pakistani interests into account. We need a die-hard Pakistani at the helm of the affairs, he added.
KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday issued the following Karachi Interbank Offered Rates (KIBOR) on November 05, 2021.
| Tenor | BID | OFFER |
| 1 – Week | 7.25 | 7.75 |
| 2 – Week | 7.28 | 7.78 |
| 1 – Month | 7.34 | 7.84 |
| 3 – Month | 8.28 | 8.53 |
| 6 – Month | 8.60 | 8.85 |
| 9 – Month | 8.87 | 9.37 |
| 1 – Year | 9.01 | 9.51 |
Karachi, November 05, 2021 – The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has released the official exchange rates for customers as of November 05, 2021.
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KARACHI: The exchange companies are required to deploy biometric verification system (BVS) for transactions of foreign currencies from November 6, 2021.
“All exchange companies are advised to deploy BVS as provided by NADRA at their outlets for biometric verification after November 05, 2021,” the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said in a communication on Thursday.
The SBP said that exchange companies were required to implement the BVS latest by October 22, 2021. Towards this, State Bank had requested National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) to facilitate the exchange companies in the implementation of BVS.
“However, given the technical challenges currently faced by the exchange companies (EC Sector), NADRA proposed to offer an android based BVS for exchange companies.”
The State Bank on request of the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP) allowed the exchange companies to accommodate its customers by using the services of another facility of NADRA named e-Sahulat till the implementation of android based BVS i.e. November 05, 2021.
The SBP said that it forwarded the technical requirements, received from NADRA, to exchange companies with an objective to ensure implementation of BVS with the given timelines. The SBP further stated that any technical and financial matter related to implementation of BVS is the sole discretion of NADRA and respective exchange companies. “Therefore, ECAP or individual exchange company may like to approach NADRA directly for any technical / financial issues, regarding implementation and procurement of systems, devices etc.”
The SBP advised all exchange companies to deploy BVS as provided by NADRA at their outlets for biometric verification after November 05, 2021. However, any relaxation / extension in the timeline shall only be allowed to the companies that will approach the SBP with genuine reasons along with an explicit time bound implementation plan.”
The SBP said NADRA has informed that the android-based BVS could also be integrated with the core business application of the exchange companies. “Therefore, all exchange companies are required to continue their coordination with NADRA to ensure that the integrated system is implemented within the stipulated timeline of June 30, 2022,” the SBP added.
KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday issued the following Karachi Interbank Offered Rates (KIBOR) on November 04, 2021.
| Tenor | BID | OFFER |
| 1 – Week | 7.25 | 7.75 |
| 2 – Week | 7.28 | 7.78 |
| 1 – Month | 7.33 | 7.83 |
| 3 – Month | 8.27 | 8.52 |
| 6 – Month | 8.59 | 8.84 |
| 9 – Month | 8.80 | 9.30 |
| 1 – Year | 8.94 | 9.44 |
Karachi, November 04, 2021 – The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has issued the official exchange rates for customers as of November 04, 2021.
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ISLAMABAD – A recent statement by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Dr. Reza Baqir has drawn sharp criticism from senators, who termed it “irresponsible” and called for immediate clarification. The contentious statement pertains to the continuous depreciation of the Pakistani Rupee (PKR) against the US Dollar.
(more…)KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has selected eight banks for lending collateral-free loan to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), a statement said on Wednesday.
Governor State Bank of Pakistan, Dr. Reza Baqir announced that banks have shown overwhelming response to an innovative financing scheme for collateral free lending to SMEs introduced by the State Bank and supported by the Government of Pakistan.
This is the first time a comprehensive collateral free SME lending scheme has been introduced by SBP in the country.
Out of 20 banks that competed for participating in this scheme, 8 banks under four categories have been selected on the basis of highest amount of finance and highest number of SME clients to be served.
These categories include large banks, mid-sized banks, small banks, and banks in collaboration with fintechs.
The winning banks are Habib Bank Ltd, United Bank Ltd, Allied Bank Ltd, Meezan Bank Ltd, Bank Alfalah Ltd, The Bank of Punjab, JS Bank Ltd and The Bank of Khyber. These banks have been selected through a transparent bidding process based on prescribed criteria.
While appreciating banks’ enthusiastic response, Dr. Reza Baqir, Governor State Bank emphasized early roll out of the scheme by banks.
He also underscored the importance of extensive awareness and marketing of the scheme for the SMEs to fully utilize its benefits.
Access to finance for SMEs remains low in Pakistan due to a number of factors including lack of collateral and perceived high risk due to non-availability of track-record.
To address these issues, SBP adopted an innovative approach by designing SME Assan Finance, commonly known as SAAF which refers to the collateral free nature of finance. SAAF has been developed after thorough consultation with stakeholders.
To implement this scheme, the SBP decided that rather than advising all banks to offer this product, only willing banks will be encouraged to be part of this initiative and develop their expertise through a transparent process.
SAAF was launched in August 2021 and bids were solicited from the interested banks. Under SAAF, SBP will provide refinance to the banks at 1 per cent per annum (p.a.) for onward lending to SMEs at a maximum end-user rate of up to 9 per cent p.a.
The end user rate under SAAF would be attractive for SMEs when compared with usual cost of financing for them from informal sources which can run 25 per cent – 50 per cent p.a.
The margin available to banks will help them to make an upfront investment in human resources, technology and processes to cater to promote SME finance.
This incentive has been provided to banks for the first three years of this scheme after which it is expected to become self-sustaining.
Additionally, under SAAF, risk coverage of up to 60 percent is being provided by Government of Pakistan. Under the SAAF scheme, SMEs can avail collateral free financing of up to Rs 10 million to meet their long-term capital expenditure and short-term working capital needs.
Governor Baqir also emphasized that a Shariah compliant version of SAAF is also available.
SBP has allocated refinance limits to eight winning banks for three years. Currently, these banks are finalizing their roll out plans for successful implementation of the scheme.
It is expected that selected banks will shortly roll out their SAAF programs through public announcements and marketing campaigns so that SME borrowers can approach any of these eight banks to request collateral free financing.