Tag: Sbp

KARACHI - With a sizeable chunk of the cash-strapped government's revenues draining out to foreign lenders in the face of debt servicing, the country's money exchangers claim to have the potential to rid Islamabad of the burden amounting to billions of dollars. In this regard, money exchange companies are due to hold an important meeting with Governor State Bank of Pakistan Shahid H Kardar tomorrow on April 8 to discuss ways and means to increase the country's foreign exchange

KARACHI - The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has asked the authorised foreign currency dealers, in all commercial banks, for details of transactions, under the Asian Clearing Union (ACU) mechanism, with Iran. Sources, privy to the matter, told Pakistan Today that the federal government had taken this initiative through the State Bank and on the behest of its strategic partners in the United States - who wanted to check nuclear proliferation to atomically-ambitious Tehran.
"Iran is

KARACHI - Pakistan's economy has shown signs of improvement but quick steps are needed to broaden the tax base to benefit from the growth in untaxed sectors, such as agriculture, the country's central bank governor has said. State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Shahid Kardar said in an interview, that he was worried by a 'structural shift' of incomes towards the untaxed sectors.
"With this shift of incomes away from the tax paying sectors to non-tax paying sectors, the

KARACHI/LAHORE - Warning against complacency, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Saturday decided to keep the policy rate unchanged at 14 percent on the back of favourable external accounts and relatively disciplined government borrowings from the central bank.
According to the central bank, inflation in Pakistan had come down year-on-year from 15.5 percent in December 2010 to 12.9 percent in February 2011. The central bank, however, noted that inflation persistence in the

KARACHI - The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has allowed the banks to send electronically the statement of account to their credit card holders. It has also asked the banks to send SMS Alert on credit card holders' mobile numbers informing them that the e-statement has been sent via email. An SBP circular on Thursday stated the central bank revised its existing Regulation (PR-O-2) of Prudential Regulation for Consumer Financing to further facilitate the banks and customers.
The

ISLAMABAD - The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Monday ordered the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to establish a commission to probe into the case of written off loans. A two-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by the chief justice was conducting hearing on cases of written off loans. SBP lawyer Syed Iqbal Haider submitted that according to the bank's circular No 29, loans could be written off in certain conditions. The CJP, however, said that the misuse of the circular would be

LAHORE - Punjab Provincial Cooperative Bank won the 7th SBP Governor's Cup Inter-Bank Super Series Cricket Tournament 2011, beating defending champions SBP Karachi by 24 runs here at the Gymkhana Ground, Bagh-i-Jinnah on Monday. Batting first PPCB scored 187 runs for the loss of five wickets in 20 overs. Mohammad Irfan (43), Mubeen Hammid (33), Tariq Mahmood (37), Mohammad Muneer (15), Umer Manwar (41 not out) and Fahim Ashraf (14 not out) all chipped in to help their team achieve the

KARACHI - State Bank of Pakistan Deputy Governor Yaseen Anwar, on Saturday, disclosed that the central bank would soon launch a 10 million UK pound Financial Innovation Challenge Fund (FICF) to spur innovations in the financial services products and delivery channels in the country. Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of NRSP Microfinance Bank Limited (NRSP MFB) in Bahawalpur, he said that the SBP had also launched Improving Access to Financial Services Fund (IAFSF), for enhancing

LAHORE - The seventh SBP Governors Cup Inter-Banks Super Series Cricket Tournament has entered the semi-final stage and the last four matches will be played on March 10.
After the league matches in both Groups A and B, four teams qualified for the semi-finals, which will be played at Model Town Whites Cricket Ground Lahore.
The first semi-final will be played between PPCBL-Lahore and SBP-Multan at 9:00am. The second semi-final will be played between SBP-Karachi and

KARACHI - The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has once again advised the general public to exchange the phased out and larger sized banknote of Rs 500 denomination at the latest by September 30. According to an issued press release, the notes can be exchanged at the field offices of SBP Banking Services Corporation and the branches of all commercial banks throughout the country. It may be recalled that the federal government has already notified that the old-design banknote of Rs 500

KARACHI - The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), on Monday, injected Rs 11 billion into the money market which, analysts believe, is short of liquidity primarily due to rupee blockade. The rupee is stuck in the face of non-performing loans (NPLs) and excessive government borrowings from central and scheduled banks, they opined. The State Bank, in its reverse repo open market operation in the Government of Pakistan Market Treasury Bills and Pakistan Investment Bonds, injected some Rs 10.95

KARACHI - The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has allowed NRSP Microfinance Bank (NRSP-MFB) to commence its countrywide operations as a microfinance bank, the central bank said on Thursday. Earlier, the central bank had issued a license to the bank that is envisaged to provide increased inclusive financial services in the country's rural areas. Licensing of NRSP-MFB was the result of gradual transformation of National Rural Support Program (NRSP) into microfinance bank. The NRSP-MFB has

ISLAMABAD - The Senate Standing Committee on Finance on Thursday called the monetary and credit policies announced by the State Bank of Pakistan during the last four years against rules for being in violation of the State Bank of Pakistan Act, as no meeting of Fiscal and Monetary Policies Coordination Board was held since 2007.
The committee, which met with Senator Ahmad Ali in the chair, criticised the SBP's announcement of monetary and credit policies without approval of the

KARACHI - The State Bank has revised the Credit Guarantee Scheme (CGS) for Small and Rural Enterprises (SREs). According to SBP's SMEFD Circular No 02, the scheme had been revised and improved in the light of the recommendations of the Technical Committee on Credit Guarantee represented by the central bank, UK's Department for International Development and the Pakistan Banks Association (PBA).
The improvements in the scheme are expected to generate desired momentum, thereby

KARACHI - The State Bank of Pakistan has decided to increase the maximum financing limit to a single export oriented project under the Long Term Financing Facility (LTFF) Scheme for Plant and Machinery to Rs 1.5 billion.
Previously, the maximum financing limit under LTFF) Scheme was Rs 1.0 billion. The central bank, through issuing SMEFD Circular Letter No 04, notified this revision to the banks and development financial institutions (DFI). However, the regulator said, banks and

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan has decided to allow third-party fund transfers through Pakistan Real Time Inter-Bank Settlement Mechanism (PRISM) with immediate effect in order to increase coverage of electronic payment systems.
According to a Circular (PSD Circular No. 2) issued today, all participating banks of PRISM are allowed to send individual third Party Fund Transfers (using MT 103) through PRISM System for amounts of Rs 10 million and above. "This, limit, however,

KARACHI - State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Deputy Governor Yaseen Anwar has said that the central bank is committed to provide a supportive legal, policy and regulatory framework for the cultivation of Islamic banking in the country.
He was delivering an address at an event, 'Narrowing the gap between philosophical underpinnings of Islamic finance and its practices', presented by Dr Abbas Mirakhor, a renowned economist and Islamic finance export and former International Monetary Fund