Tag: Sbp

KARACHI - Forecasting Pakistan's real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth at two to three percent, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has said that the country's external accounts would deteriorate during second half of the current fiscal year. In its first Quarterly Report for 2010-11, the central bank has projected that persistent energy shortages and growing arrears of energy payments would continue to dampen economic activity in the country.
The Report on the state of

KARACHI - The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) views that the government should implement all the proposed levies including reformed GST, wealth tax, agriculture tax, capital gains tax and windfall tax to broaden present narrow tax base of the cash-strapped country.
"Arguably all of these proposals should be implemented to ensure widening of the tax base," the State Bank said in its First Quarterly Report for 2010-11 issued on Wednesday. The central bank, expressing concern over the

KARACHI - The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has decided to keep its policy rate unaltered at 14 percent for the upcoming two months, February and March, of the current fiscal year. The decision came under special circumstances as the central bank is closely watching and expecting the country's political leadership to take responsible measures to jointly devise a strategy or agenda.
The central bank has allowed the cost of borrowing to stay at 14 percent following an agreement with

KARACHI - The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has advised banks, development finance institutions (DFIs) and microfinance banks (MFBs) to submit claims for second installment of the government's mark-up rate subsidy under Fiscal Relief Package (FRP).
The FRP is a government facility provided to augment eligible sectors other than the textile industry in war-torn Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and federally and provincially administered tribal areas of the country. According to a Circular

KARACHI - Pakistani shares ended almost flat as volume fell to a one month low as cautious investors remained on the sidelines ahead of the monetary policy announcement on Saturday by the State Bank of Pakistan. The Karachi Stock Exchange's benchmark 100-share index ended 0.04 percent, or 4.44 points, higher at 12,481.44 points.
Turnover fell to 87.9 million shares, compared with 112.3 million shares traded on Thursday.
"Despite healthy corporate results in the energy

ISLAMABAD - The Finance Ministry on Friday apprised the Senate of the fact that the officials at the State Bank of Pakistan and the Federal Board of Revenue cost Rs 24 million to the national exchequer on their visits abroad.
Ironically, these visits were meant to seek remedy against the financial crunch in which the Pakistani officials held talks with representatives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from October 2008 to November 2010. The Finance Ministry submitted

KARACHI - The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), warning of risks related to e-banking components like Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), has urged banks to mitigate perils prudently.
"The rapid development of e-banking capabilities, in addition to benefits, carries risks of its own," State Bank Deputy Governor Muhammad Kamran Shehzad told participants of a discussion on 'Managing ATM Security and Risks in its Operations', organised by Messrs Phoenix Armor at a local hotel on

KARACHI - The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) continued injecting liquidity into the money market that, analysts believe, is faced with liquidity crunch due to the rupee blockade as non-performing loans (NPL) mount and excessive government borrowing from the scheduled banks takes a toll.
The state bank, in its fifth reverse repo open market operation of the month in the Government of Pakistan Market Treasury Bills and Pakistan Investment Bonds, injected some Rs 8.0 billion into the

KARACHI - Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Vice President Khalid Tawab has expressed serious reservations of the State Bank of Pakistan's (SBP) new Monetary Policy to be announced on January 29; it is anticipated that the discount rate will be raised by a further 50 basis points. He said that the SBP continues to operate a tight monetary policy despite clear evidence that such policy strangulates investment and trade in Pakistan and has hampered the

KARACHI - The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has announced that glass manufacturing industry producing exportable goods is now eligible for financing under the central bank's Long Term Financing Facility (LTFF). According to an SBP Circular, SMEFD Circular Letter No. 2 which was issued on Thursday, the financing for plant, machinery and equipment to be used by the export-oriented projects in the glass sector for producing exportable goods shall also be eligible under the LTFF Scheme.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday lifted a ban on the export of all types of foreign currencies except the US dollar after, what the SBP spokesman referred to as, a result of the stabilisation of the exchange rate. According to Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP), the 'good' decision would help the country avoid smuggling of foreign exchange and a monthly loss of over $200 million that the money exchangers previously contributed to the exchequer before the

KARACHI - The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), on Wednesday, lifted ban on the export of all types of foreign currencies (FCys) except the US dollar after, what the SBP spokesman said, was a result of stabilisation in the country's exchange rate.According to Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP), the "good" decision would help the country avoid smuggling of foreign exchange and a monthly loss of over $200 million that the money exchangers used to contribute in the exchequer

ISLAMABAD - The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), to make the tax system more transparent, has requested the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to share data of foreign exchange remittances. An official source told Pakistan Today on Sunday that Chairman FBR Salman Saddique held a meeting with Governor State Bank Shahid Hafeez Kardar.
The FBR is faced with the challenge of ending corruption and under-invoicing for the last several years whereby businessmen and officials embezzle billions

KARACHI - The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has advised banks and Development Financial Institutions (DFI) to submit claims for second installment with respect to Fiscal Relief Package (FRP) of the government for textile sector beneficiaries in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Federal and Provincial Administered Tribal Areas.
The prime minister's fiscal relief package is envisaged to rehabilitate economic life in Khyber Pakthunkhwa, Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and the

KARACHI - The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has revised the credit limit for banks and Development Financial Institutions (DFI) under consumer financing at Rs 5.0 million.
The central bank has also allowed commercial banks and DFIs to waive the requirement of 50 percent debt burden in case the borrower's credit card and personal loan happens to be properly secured through liquid assets with a minimum 30 percent margin.
The State Bank introduced the new regulations with

KARACHI - The State Bank of Pakistan has amended the Prudential Regulation Number 17 for microfinance banks (MFB) with immediate effect to introduce minimum requirements to maintain records of transactions and identification data in a systematic manner.
An SBP Circular, MFD Circular Number 1 issued on Saturday, said microfinance banks shall keep records on identification data obtained through the customer due diligence (CDD) process, account files and business correspondence for

karachi - The State Bank of Pakistan and all offices of SBP Banking Services Corporation, inclusive of public debt offices, will remain closed for public dealing on Saturday, the January 1, 2011, which has been declared as a bank holiday.
All banks/DFIs shall, therefore, remain closed for public dealing on the above mentioned date. However, staff of SBP, SBPBSC, banks/ DFIs will attend the office as usual.