KARACHI: Banks will remain closed on May 01, 2020 on the occasion of Labour Day as declared holiday by the government.
State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Tuesday issued a circular informing the presidents and chief executives of all banks, development financial institutions and microfinance banks that the central bank will remain closed on May 01, 2020 (Friday) on the occasion of Labour Day as declared by the government.
KARACHI: Banks to remain closed for public dealing on Monday due to deduction of Zakat.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in a statement said that it will remain closed for public dealing on Monday, April 27, 2020, which shall be observed as “Bank Holiday” for the purpose of deduction of Zakat.
All banks / DFIs / MFBs shall, therefore, remain closed for public dealing on Monday, April 27, 2020.
However, all employees of the banks / DFIs / MFBs will attend to their official assignments (in-office or work-from-home, as designated under the current COVID-19 situation) on Bank Holiday treating it as a normal working day (except for public dealing).
KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday advised banks, microfinance banks and development financial institutions (DFIs) to register their security interest under secured transaction laws.
The SBP in a circular said that with a view to provide for registration of charge on security/collateral offered by un-incorporated entities including sole proprietorships and partnerships and thereby enhancing their access to finance, The Financial Institutions (Secured Transactions) Act, 2016 (STA) was promulgated on July 1, 2016.
The government has authorized the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) to operate Secured Transactions Registry (STR) to record statements in relation to security interests created by entities under STA. SECP is going to launch the Secured Transactions Registry (STR) under the STA on April 27, 2020 for registration of security interests on movable assets of entities, other than companies.
In view of the above, all the banks, microfinance banks and DFIs are advised to register their security interests against movable assets of entities for future as well as prior security interests (i.e. security interests created before the operationalization of the STR as provided under section 73 of the STA) in the STR.
The security interest has been defined as: “a right, title, encumbrance or interest of any kind upon movable property created or provided for by a security agreement in relation to a transaction that in substance secures the payment or performance of a customer’s obligation under a finance without regard to the form of the transaction or the terminology used by the parties or the identity of the person who title to the movable property, and includes any charge, mortgage, hypothecation, fixed charge, floating charge, assignment, lien, pledge, assignment of receivable by way of security and transactions under which a secured creditor retains title such as a finance lease, hire purchase agreement, sale and lease back arrangement, conditional sale agreement and retention of title arrangement, having similar effect.”
KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday announced timings for public dealing by banks during the holy month of Ramazan ul Mubarak.
| Days | Business (Banking) Hours for Public Dealing |
| Monday to Thursday | 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. (without break) |
| Friday | 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (without break) |
The SBP said that in modification of BPRD Circular Letter No.18 dated April 14, 2020 regarding office timings under measures against COVID-19, it has been decided that SBP will continue to observe the following office hours during the month of Ramazan-ul-Mubarak 1441 A.H., which will also be followed by all banks / DFIs / MFBs:
| Days | Office Hours |
| Monday to Thursday | 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (with prayer break from 2:00 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.) |
| Friday | 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (without break) |
KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday announced that banks will remain closed for public dealing for the purpose of deduction of Zakat.
The central bank said that it will remain closed for public dealing on Monday, April 27, 2020, which shall be observed as “Bank Holiday” for the purpose of deduction of Zakat.
All banks / DFIs / MFBs shall, therefore, remain closed for public dealing on Monday, April 27, 2020.
However, all employees of the banks / DFIs / MFBs will attend to their official assignments (in-office or work-from-home, as designated under the current COVID-19 situation) on Bank Holiday treating it as a normal working day (except for public dealing).
KARACHI: The official reserves of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) have reduced by $85 million to $10.889 billion by week ended April 17, 2020, the central bank said on Thursday.
The SBP attributed this decline to government external debt payments of $145 million.
The SBP said that on April 20, 2020, it received $1.39 billion from International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) to address the economic impact of the Covid-19 shock.
These funds will be part of SBP weekly reserves data as of 24-April-2020, to be released on 30-April-2020.
The total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $17.300 million on April 17, 2020. The reserves held by commercial banks were at Rs6.41 billion.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has issued comprehensive guidelines to help Islamic Banking Institutions (IBIs) mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19 on their customers.
(more…)KARACHI: Current account deficit (CAD) has contracted by 73 percent during first nine months (July – March) 2019/2020 due to significant decline in import bill.
The current account deficit fell to $2.77 billion during first nine months of current fiscal year as compared with $10.28 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year, according to balance of payment (BOP) details issued by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday.
Country’s trade deficit shrank by 26.44 percent to $17.36 billion during July – March 2019/2020 as compared with the deficit of $23.61 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.
The import bill of the country fell by 14 percent to $34.81 billion during first nine months of current fiscal year as compared with $40.68 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.
The exports also increased by 2.23 percent to $17.45 billion during the period under review as compared with $17.07 billion in the same period of the last fiscal year.
On the other hand workers’ remittances received during July – March 2019/2020 amounted to $16.99 billion recording an increase $960.7 million or 6 percent over remittances $16.03 billion received during July – March 2018/2019.
KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has allowed banks to suspend distribution of dividends for two quarters as financial institutions may face loan infection amid COVID-19.
The central bank in a statement on Wednesday said that the banks/DFIs in Pakistan have much higher capital levels than prescribed globally or minimum levels advised by the SBP.
Accordingly, SBP sees no immediate signs of systemic capital fragility across the banking industry. “However, banks/DFIs have been advised to suspend the dividend distribution for the next two quarters.”
The banks/DFIs that have approved dividend declaration for quarter ended March 2020 by 22nd April 2020 have been advised to suspend dividend distribution for June and September quarters 2020.
“All other banks have been advised to suspend dividend distribution for March and June 2020 quarters.”
“This important decision has been taken keeping in view uncertainty arising out of COVID 19 pandemic and probability of higher infections in loan portfolios of banks as a result of that,” the SBP said.
This measure will also enhance loss absorption capacity of the banking system and will enable them to further support the real sector in Pakistan.
Notably, while releasing prescribed capital buffers and taking other regulatory relief measures, a number of other jurisdictions across the globe have also placed moratorium on dividend distribution and payment of cash bonuses to senior/executive officers and material risk takers.
The SBP is confident that the suspension of dividend payout will further increase the resilience of banking sector and improve their ability to provide much needed credit support to the real economy.
SBP will keep on closely monitoring the performance of banks/DFIs under its regulatory domain and take appropriate action as needed to ensure safety and soundness of individual banks/DFIs and the overall banking system.
The central bank in a statement on Wednesday said that amid the growing concerns of COVID – 19 pandemic, the SBP, thus far, announced a number of regulatory relief measures for the financial sector and real economy.
These measures are primarily aimed at ensuring the safety and soundness of banking sector while enhancing their lending capacity to support the economic activities in the country.
KARACHI: Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) on Wednesday demanded the central bank to reduce policy rate to 4 percent instead easing in bits and pieces.
KCCI President Agha Shahab Ahmed Khan in a statement urged the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to bring down the policy rate from 9.0 percent to 4.0 percent in view of the extra-ordinary circumstances and a global scale economic crisis, which is certain to have a long term negative impact on Pakistan’s economy.
In a letter sent to Governor SBP Dr. Reza Baqir, President KCCI stressed that reduction in policy rate in bits and pieces is not enough to provide the much needed stimulus to the economy hence, it is necessary to significantly reduce the interest rate in a single step, to help the businesses sail through the unprecedented crisis.
He was of the opinion that there is now ample justification for reduction in policy rate because the inflation rate has declined sharply due to a steep fall in prices of crude oil, commodities and raw materials, while the demand has also been suppressed.
President KCCI appreciated the measures taken by SBP to support the industry and exporters to meet the challenges and financial crunch faced by them due to prolonged lockdowns to prevent the spread of Covid-19 coronavirus.
While acknowledging the interest rates of 4 percent and 5 percent for filers and non-filers respectively in the package, he suggested that in view of the special circumstances, the rate of interest should be zero to support the economy and sustain the industries at least for the next one year.
He however stressed that there is a dire need to announce a Rescue Package for Micro level Enterprises and SMEs which contribute around 40 percent to GDP.
He pointed out that unfortunately, no relief has so far been announced for Micro enterprises and SMEs, which are under much greater financial stress then the large scale businesses and their survival is at stake.