ISLAMABAD – The banks have been generous enough to write off loans worth Rs 74.384 billion during the past two years. In a written statement, Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Sheikh informed members of the Lower House on Thursday that of these loans, 49 percent loans were written off by private sector local banks, around Rs 36.315 billion.
In contrast, foreign banks wrote off loans of Rs 29.984 billion, while public sector banks wrote off loans of Rs 8.085 billion. Of the public sector banks, Zarai Tarqiati Bank Limited topped the list with write offs of Rs 3.449 billion, followed by the National Bank of Pakistan which wrote off loans of Rs 3.186 billion.
SME Bank waived loans of Rs 679.3 million, Industrial Develop Bank Rs 525.4 million, Pak-Kuwait Investment Bank Rs 68.9 million, Saudi-Pak Industrial and Agri Investment Company Rs 65.5 million, The Bank of Punjab Rs 57.5 million, the Bank of Khyber Rs 39.3 million, Pak-Libya Holding Company Rs 7.5 million, Pak Oman Investment Company Rs 2.82 million and First Woman Bank Rs 2.4 6million.
