The share of the domestic component was 76.3 per cent of total expansion in debt and liabilities during first five months of current fiscal year 2011-12 compared with 69.1 per cent during the same period last year. The rising borrowing needs of the government were largely met from the banking system and Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves fell from the level of 27.9 weeks of imports on end-Jun 2011 to 23.6 weeks of imports on end-Nov 2011said the State Bank of Pakistan(SBP)in its report. Through short term floating debt instruments This resulted in further amplification of scheduled banks holding of domestic debt to 37.7 percent on end-Nov 2011 from 33.4 percent on end-Jun 2011. According to State Bank Report,MTBs held by scheduled banks were one of the chief sources of financing the circular debt settlement in November 2011. Specifically, government raised around Rs200.0 billion from 12-M MTBs in the auction held on Nov 4, 2011. On the upside, the maturity profile of floating debt has seen an improvement, after the monetary policy loosening by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in Jul and Oct 2011. This is, due to a shift in commercial banks investment towards 12M T-bills instead of the shorter tenor bills. This shift towards longer tenor securities will reduce the roll-over and interest rate risk faced by the government. “During Jul-November 2011 government raised Rs59.1 billion through MTBs from non-bank sector, as compared to the retirement of Rs208 billion to non-bank sector during the same period last year,” it said. Pakistan ahead of India, BD in microfinance business environment: Ghalib Nishter.
