The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday said that the decision had been made by the Board members of the corporation in their meeting held on September 06, 2021.
This enhanced guarantee amount now provides full protection up to 95 per cent of the eligible depositors.
The main objective of the deposit protection scheme is to safeguard depositors’ interests and further enhance their trust in the country’s banking sector.
The deposit protection facility is applicable to all eligible depositors and does not require any further subscription or registration of depositors.
The guarantee amount or protected deposit becomes payable to eligible depositors only if the State Bank of Pakistan declares a bank as a failed bank and is not payable under any other circumstances.
KARACHI: The liquid foreign exchange reserves of the country fell by $663 million during the week ended September 17, 2021.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday said that the foreign exchange reserves of the country fell to $26.402 billion by week ended September 17, 2021 as compared with $27.065 billion a week ago.
The official foreign exchange reserves of the SBP also fell by $480 million to $19.543 billion by week ended September 17, 2021 as compared with $20.023 billion a week ago.
The State Bank said that the decline in foreign exchange reserves were mainly due to external payments.
The foreign exchange reserves held by commercial bank came down by $183 million to $6.859 billion by week ended September 17, 2021 as compared with $7.042 billion a week ago.
This targeted step will help to moderate demand growth in the economy, leading to slower import growth and thus supporting the balance of payments.
The changes in the regulations effectively prohibit financing for imported vehicles and tighten regulatory requirements for financing of domestically manufactured/ assembled vehicles of more than 1000 cc engine capacity and other Consumer Finance facilities like personal loans and credit cards. Following changes have been made in this regard:
— Maximum tenure of auto finance has been reduced from seven (7) to five (5) years;
— Maximum tenure of personal loan has been reduced from five (5) to four (4) years
— Maximum debt-burden ratio, allowed to a borrower, has been decreased from 50 to 40 percent;
— Overall auto financing limits availed by one person from all banks/DFIs, in aggregate, will not exceed Rs3,000,000, at any point in time; and
— Minimum down payment for auto financing has been increased from 15 percent to 30 percent.
With the objective to protect lower to middle-income category purchases, these new regulations are not applicable to locally manufactured or assembled vehicles of up to 1,000 cc engine capacity, the SBP said.
They are also not applicable to locally manufactured electric vehicles to promote the use of clean energy.
The financing of these two categories of vehicles will continue to be governed by the previous set of regulations.
Further, in order to encourage Roshan Digital Accounts and facilitate overseas Pakistan who have opened these accounts, regulatory instructions for Roshan Apni Car products of the banks or DFIs have also not been changed.
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday released the customers’ exchange rates for September 23, 2021, providing a snapshot of the currency market based on data collected from commercial banks across the country.
ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin on Tuesday presided over a meeting on the establishment of Pakistan International e-payment gateway (IPG).
The IPG will pave the way for financial inclusion and payment digitization which is a sub-component of the 09-pillars of the E-Commerce policy.
Federal Minister for IT & Telecommunication Syed Amin-ul-Haque, Adviser on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood, CEO NITB Syed Hussain Abbas Kazmi, Secretary Commerce, senior policy analyst and other senior officers participated in the meeting.
A consultative session was held with all relevant stakeholders to identify gaps between payment solutions available domestically and its integration with international payment gateway solution providers to promote e-commerce.
The Adviser on Commerce briefed the participants about the current digital financial landscape in the country.
SBP governor outlined steps being taken for the financial inclusion of domestic banks.
Federal Minister for IT and Telecom assured full facilitation in the provision of enabling environment to the service providers as needed under IPG.
In his remarks, the Finance Minister directed the authorities to follow best international practices and devise a way forward for implementing an international payment gateway ensuring transparency and due consultation with key stakeholders both in public and private sectors.
The Finance Minister constituted a 04-member Committee headed by the Secretary of Commerce and comprising representatives of the Ministry of Commerce, Finance Division and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
The Finance Minister further directed to seek input from the President, Pakistan Banking Association (PBA) and leading market players from the private sector to understand their requirements and present a framework for further deliberation after 04 weeks.
In his concluding remarks, the Finance Minister stated that Government will be the facilitator and regulator in a journey towards implementing IPG. The establishment of an international e-payment gateway will improve consumer confidence in E-Commerce through global connectivity
