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Tag: State Bank of Pakistan

  • SBP directs banks, exporters to submit undertaking for true e-form

    SBP directs banks, exporters to submit undertaking for true e-form

    KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has directed banks and exporters to submit undertaking for true e-form under export finance scheme.

    According to a circular issued on July 01, 2020 the banks shall provide details of exporters including name and address, NTN. Besides, the banks will also provide number and amount of export proceeds.

    Furthermore, both banks and exporters shall undertake that:
    In case of mismatch between the commodity and HS code provided, the entry will not be considered for performance/entitlement until rectified.

    The contents of subject MS excel file titled[Bank Prefix-Exporter’s NTN-Serial Number] are correct and complied with relevant instructions of the EFS.

    The exports on usance basis reported in the above referred statement are against irrevocable letter(s) of credit which is/are eligible for negotiation and the usance bills in respect thereof have not been negotiated with a scheduled bank in Pakistan except those mentioned there against.

    The statement does not include:

    I. Any export of commodities which do not qualify for export finance under the Scheme.

    II. Any export made under a Contract/LC against which they obtained export finance from any bank under Part-I of the Scheme (this clause is required in case of EF-1 Statements only).

    The SBP further said that through circular letter no. 12 dated June 26, 2020 wherein banks have been advised to get verified their EE-1/EF-1 statements and submit the same to concerned SBP-BSC offices.

    As it is in the knowledge of banks that in order to streamline the process and ensure smooth execution of workflow, hard copy submission of EE-1/EF-1 Statements has already been dispensed with and only soft copies of EE-1/EF-1 statement on the excel format attached at Annexure-I shall be submitted by banks.

    In addition, banks shall submit scanned copy of original undertaking duly signed by the exporter and the authorized personnel of the bank on the format attached at Annexure-II. Banks shall attach the scanned copy of the undertaking in the email containing soft copy of EE-1/EF-1 statement.

    The soft copies of EE-1/EF-1Statements of Karachi region shall be sent electronically to FEOD-HOK, through bank personnel’s official email address on: [email protected];whereas, for regions other than Karachi, the respective SBP-BSC Office will provide email addresses to banks’ Regional Heads.

    The following must be ensured by banks at the time of submission of email containing soft copy of EE-1/EF-1statement and undertaking:

    1. Email is properly titled as “Verification of EE-1/EF-1Statement: M/s [Exporter Name]”
    2. Excel file is properly titled as “[Bank Prefix –Exporter’s NTN –Serial Number]”.
    3. Single consolidated statement is submitted for each exporter having Advance Payment and Post-shipment entries.
    4. E-Form No. and NTN is in the correct format.
    5. Currency, Schedule and Sales Term is statedasper formatprovided in the list in drop-down of the relevant column in MS Excel file.
    6. All entries have been reported in ITRS.
    7. All shipping documents have been submitted for shipments against Advance Payments.

    The SBP said that soft copies of EE-1/EF-1statements should be submitted at FEOD Karachi and Field Offices along with undertaking strictly as per the formats provided.

  • SBP extends employment support scheme for three months

    SBP extends employment support scheme for three months

    KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has extended the Rozgar scheme for another three months and, in collaboration with the Government of Pakistan, has increased the risk coverage for SMEs under the scheme.

    Soon after the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, SBP took a number of steps to provide economic support to businesses and households. SBP reduced the financial cost to the private and public businesses and households by reducing the policy rate by a cumulative 625 basis points since 17th March 2020. To improve the cash flow of businesses and households, it allowed deferment of principal amount and restructuring of loans. In addition to these measures, SBP introduced several refinance schemes to support employment and investment to fight the economic impact of COVID-19, the SBP said.

    Refinance Scheme to Support Employment and Prevent Layoff of Workers, commonly known as SBP Rozgar scheme: This scheme provides concessional loans to businesses for wages and salaries expenses provided they commit not lay off their employees for the period of the loan.  SBP has decided to extend the validity of this scheme by another 3 months to end September, 2020. Businesses will now be able to obtain financing to pay wages and salaries for a maximum period of 6 months starting April 2020 till September 2020.

    Effectively, this suggests that not only businesses can obtain loans to fund their wages and salaries bill up to a period of 3 months from July till September 2020, but can also get reimbursement for the wages and salaries paid during April-June 2020.  For those who have already availed financing under the scheme, financing limits for the months of July to September 2020 will be calculated on the same basis on which limits were calculated for the months of April to June 2020.

    Under the scheme, up till 19th June 2020, financing of Rs 112.8 billion have been approved by banks for 1653 businesses covering wages and salaries of over 1.1 million employees.

    The government Risk Sharing Facility under SBP Rozgar Scheme: With a view to incentivize banks/DFIs for financing to SMEs and non SME corporates, Government of Pakistan (GoP) introduced a Risk Sharing Facility (RSF) for SBP’s Rozgar Scheme.

    Under this facility, GoP bears 40 percent first loss on disbursed portfolio (principal portion only) for eligible borrowers.

    Government of Pakistan has now decided not only to extend validity of its risk sharing facility (RSF) for another three months for SMEs and small corporates with turnover of up to Rs 2 billion but also enhanced risk coverage for SMEs from 40 percent to 60 percent First Loss on portfolio basis.

    This higher risk coverage will help banks to provide financing under Rozgar scheme to collateral deficient SMEs which are otherwise struggling hard.

     SBP now expects that more SMEs will benefit from the scheme mainly due to higher risk coverage, more awareness of the scheme among the stakeholders and robust support mechanism to address queries and complaints with well organized set up comprising regional focal persons of SBP Offices and banks all across the country. Under the RSF, up till 19th June 2020, financing of Rs 25.4 billion have been approved by banks for around 1100 businesses covering wages and salaries of over 220,000 employees.

    It is expected that the above two measures will allow more businesses to benefit from these schemes and thereby support the employment of their employees.

  • Bank holiday announced on July 01

    Bank holiday announced on July 01

    KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) will remain closed for public dealing on Wednesday, July 1, 2020, which will be observed as ‘Bank Holiday’ enabling the bank to close its accounts, the central bank said in a statement on Monday.

    All employees of the Bank 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), it added.

  • SBP enhances credit card limits under consumer financing

    SBP enhances credit card limits under consumer financing

    KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday enhanced credit card limit by amending regulations related to consumer financing.

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  • SBP foreign exchange reserves slip to $9.96 billion

    SBP foreign exchange reserves slip to $9.96 billion

    KARACHI: The official foreign exchange reserves of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fell by $146 million to $9.961 billion by week ended June 19, 2020, according to weekly data of foreign exchange reserves of the country issued by the SBP on Thursday.

    The official reserves of the central bank were at $10.107 billion by week ended June 12, 2020.

    The SBP said that during the week ended June 19, 2020, SBP reserves decreased by $146 million to $ 9,961.2 million. This decline is attributed to government external debt payments of $ 244.5 million.

    During the current week, SBP has received around $1,725 million, including $725 million from the World Bank, US$500 million from Asian Development Bank and US$500 million from Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

    These funds will be part of SBP weekly reserves data as of 26-June-2020 to be released on 02-July-2020.

    The total foreign exchange reserves of the country fell by $45 million to $16.73 billion by week ended June 19, 2020 as compared with $16.775 billion a week ago.

    However, the foreign exchange reserves of commercial banks increased by $101 million to $6.769 billion by week ended June 19, 2020 as compared with $6.668 billion a week ago.

  • SBP slashes policy rate by 100 basis points to 7 percent

    SBP slashes policy rate by 100 basis points to 7 percent

    KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday announced to further cut policy rate by 100 basis points to 7 percent in order to support domestic economic activities.

    A statement issued by the SBP stated that at its meeting on June 25, 2020, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to reduce the policy rate by 100 basis points to 7 percent. This decision reflected the MPC’s view that the inflation outlook has improved further, while the domestic economic slowdown continues and downside risks to growth have increased.

    Against this backdrop of receding demand-side inflation risks, the priority of monetary policy has appropriately shifted toward supporting growth and employment during these challenging times.

    Consistent with its mandate, the MPC re-asserted its commitment to supporting households and businesses through the Covid-19 crisis and minimizing damage to the economy. In this context, the MPC felt that from a risk management point of view, a prompt response to downside risks to growth was called for given the improved inflation outlook. In addition, the MPC noted that with approximately Rs. 3.3 trillion worth of loans due to be repriced by early July 2020, this was an opportune moment to take action from a monetary policy transmission perspective.

    In this way, the benefits of interest rate reductions would be passed on in a timely manner to households and businesses.

    The MPC noted that the Covid-19 pandemic is spreading in many emerging markets, including Pakistan, and there are fears of a second wave in several other countries.

    The MPC observed that risks to the global outlook are heavily skewed to the downside and the path of recovery remains uncertain.

    The MPC also noted that in its update of the World Economic Outlook (WEO) released yesterday, the IMF downgraded its 2020 global growth forecast further to -4.9 percent, 1.9 percentage points lower than in April, and projected a more gradual recovery than previously anticipated.

    Domestically, the moderation of underlying inflation has continued. Notwithstanding a seasonal uptick in food prices associated with the Eid holiday, headline inflation declined further to 8.2 percent in May on the back of the recent cut in diesel and petrol prices. In addition, month-on-month inflation rates continue to be low.

    Recent SPI data also suggests continued moderation in overall price pressures in June, despite price increases in some food items, notably wheat.

    The FY2020/21 budget is also expected to be neutral for inflation as the freeze on government salaries, absence of new taxes, and lower production cost from reduced import duties should offset the decline in subsidies in some sectors. While supply shocks could create some volatility in inflation, the MPC felt that these are likely to be transitory given weak domestic demand, such that monetary policy should generally look past them.

    Given the absence of demand-side pressures, average inflation could fall below the previously announced range of 7-9 percent for next fiscal year.

    With the current reduction of the policy rate to 7 percent, the MPC felt that real rates on a forward-looking basis (defined as the policy rate less expected inflation) would be kept close to zero, which is appropriate under the current circumstances.

    On the real side, the decline in LSM deepened to 41.9 percent (y/y) in April, when lockdowns were still in place. In May, high-frequency indicators of activity such as cement dispatches, automobile sales, food and textile exports, and POL sales also continued to contract, although mostly at a lower rate than in the previous two months. Looking ahead, the economy is expected to recover gradually in FY21, supported by easing lockdowns, supportive macroeconomic policies and a pick-up in global growth. However, risks are skewed to the downside and the recovery will depend critically on the evolution of the pandemic both in Pakistan and abroad.

    On the external front, the current account swung into surplus in May on the back of a reduction in the trade deficit and a pick-up in remittances compared to the previous month. Meanwhile, portfolio outflows slowed considerably compared to the previous two months and FDI has been resilient, nearly doubling to $2.4 billion so far in FY20 compared to the same period last year. SBP reserves declined to US$ 9.96 billion as of 19th June 2020 largely due to debt repayments.

    However, since then, SBP has received fresh disbursements from multilateral agencies including around $725 million from World Bank and $500 million from ADB, and another $500 million is expected shortly from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

    During this period of external volatility, the MPC observed that the flexible exchange rate has played its valuable shock absorber role, helping cushion the economy from the tightening of financial conditions associated with capital outflows from emerging markets and deteriorating global sentiment.

    The MPC noted that the depreciation in the rupee has been lower than in many other emerging markets, reflecting the increased reserve buffers accumulated over the last year. The outlook for the external sector remains stable. Recent data confirms the view that the current account deficit should remain bounded through the Covid-19 crisis due to lower oil prices. In addition, projected official and private inflows are expected to keep the external position fully funded.

    Today’s decision brings the cumulative reduction in the policy rate since mid-March to 625 basis points, commensurate with the decline in inflation during this period.

    The MPC noted that the take-up of several other SBP initiatives has risen significantly in recent weeks, notably concessional refinancing facilities to protect employment and support the health sector as well as regulatory measures to provide debt servicing relief.

    Together, this strong and data-driven monetary policy response should support growth and employment, while keeping inflation expectations anchored and maintaining financial stability.

  • SBP receives $1bn from ADB, World Bank

    SBP receives $1bn from ADB, World Bank

    KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Tuesday received $1 billion from two international financial institutions to mitigate adverse economic impact of COVID-19.

    The SBP said that it had received $500 million each from Asian Development Bank (ADB) and World Bank.

    Pakistan and three international financial institutions (IFIs) including World Bank, ADB and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) have signed $1.5 billion loans agreement as each of the IFI has provided $500 million facility.

    This is concessional financing in the form of budgetary support that is being provided by the three IFIs that will help mitigate socio-economic impact of COVID-19 pandemic and strengthen health, education, and social safety nets systems.

    The Asian Development Bank is extending financial support of $500 million for this programme with the objective to support the government of Pakistan’s efforts to strengthen the health system and mitigate socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is extending co-financing of $500 million for the CARES to augment the government’s efforts to mitigate the direct and indirect impacts of COVID-19 pandemic

    The scope of the CARES programme covers: (i) social protection for the poor and vulnerable, (ii) an expanded health sector response to the pandemic; and (iii) a pro-poor fiscal stimulus package to ensure recovery in growth and employment.

    Securing Human Investments to Foster Transformation (SHIFT) $500 million: It aims to strengthen the Civil Registration and Vital Statistics, health and education systems essential for human capital accumulation; recognise and support the contribution of women to economic productivity; and improve efficiency of the national safety nets.

    Noor Ahmed, Secretary Ministry of Economic Affairs, signed the three loan agreements on behalf of government of Pakistan, while Patchamuthu Illangovan, Country Director WB Ms Xiaohong Yang, Country Director, ADB and Konstantin Limitovsriy, Vice President, AIIB signed agreements on behalf of the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and AIIB respectively.

  • Banks directed to observe extended working hours on June 30 to facilitate tax payment

    Banks directed to observe extended working hours on June 30 to facilitate tax payment

    The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has instructed commercial banks to observe extended working hours on June 30, 2020. This decision aims to facilitate the timely payment of duties and taxes as the fiscal year concludes.

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  • SBP develops regulatory framework for cross border e-commerce

    SBP develops regulatory framework for cross border e-commerce

    ISLAMABAD: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has developed regulatory framework for facilitation of cross border B2C e-commerce.

    However, this will be adopted after integration with the e-Commerce to be developed by Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) in WeBOC (Web Based One Customs).

    The officials of SBP shared this information at the second meeting of National e-Commerce Council, chaired by Abdul Razak Dawood, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment on Thursday.

    All of the nominated members of the Council, including State Bank of Pakistan, Ministry of IT & Telecom, Federal Board of Revenue, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, National Information Technology Board, Provincial Departments of Industries and Commerce, Provincial Revenue Authorities, Pakistan Post, Federal and Provincial Consumer Rights Commission/Councils, Telecom companies, online marketplaces, Fintech sector representatives, Freelancers, Banking sector and Logistics companies attended the meeting.

    The Advisor briefed the participants about the progress achieved in the past months on the e-Commerce Policy, since its approval on October 01, 2019.

    He appreciated the coordinated efforts of public and private sector for the effective implementation of the policy.

    Talking to the participants, Razak Dawood underlined that the trend of e-commerce has increased rapidly in the recent years with the development and easy accessibility of the internet.

    He added that, due to the covid-19 pandemic, the importance of e-Commerce has increased manifolds, making it an extremely vital sector for the economy.

    He stressed the importance of directing the resources towards digital adoption and connecting the SMEs to e-platforms across the globe, while exploring new market access opportunities for them.

    Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Revenue Authorities apprised the participants of the incentives being announced for Digital and e-Commerce sector in the provincial budgets to support these sectors during these challenging circumstances.

    Representatives from Consumer Protection Councils of Punjab and Lahore and from Consumer Rights Commission of Pakistan informed that, in line with the directions of the e-Commerce Policy, Federal and Provincial Consumer Acts are being amended to include the subject of e-Commerce and the disputes arising from this sector.

    They added that webinars are being planned to educate academia and train the judicial officers on the subject of consumer protection.

    SECP shared with the participants that several new initiatives are being planned to promote e-Commerce, including introduction of a separate sectoral classification of e-Commerce.

     So far 152 businesses have registered on their portal, which has reduced the time of a company registration to 4 hours.

    Secretary Commerce told the participants that Ministry of Commerce is continuously engaged with its foreign trade missions for promoting Pakistani trade and exploring new markets for its exporters.

    In this regard, a new development is registration of Pakistani sellers with Amazon. Initially, a list of 38 exporters has been communicated to Amazon, which is limited to Surgical & Sports Goods and Home Textiles Sectors but will be expanded to other sectors in near future, after a successful trial of these shortlisted companies.

    A video message from the Director General-WTO, appreciating Pakistan’s e-Commerce Policy being a step in the right direction, was also shared with the participants.