State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Ashraf Mahmood Wathra has said on Tuesday that a proposal for Balochistan Bank has already been forwarded to Chief Minister Nawab Sanaullah Zehri. He added that steps are also being taken to increase the operations of commercial banks in the province. He highlighted that it is crucial to improve the banking activities in the province now that the law and order situation in the province has improved and various developmental work is underway in the province under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project.
Wathra also informed that banking executives from all the banks had been directed to expedite credit and loan services in Balochistan to promote trade. He added that a 45-phase three-year plan was going to be implemented so that people could benefit from banking services through mobile phones.
Wathra also announced that as many as seventy new branches of commercial banks will be opened in different parts of Balochistan, alongside a branchless mobile digital banking system that will help penetrate banking facilities to far-flung areas. Furthermore, this will create economic opportunities for the people of the province, he added.
Wathra further stated that a proposal for supporting skilled women in the region was also being devised whereby loans will be made available to skilled women in Baluchistan on easy instalments. The SBP, he said, will be sharing risk with commercial banks. This will lead to upliftment of the economy, he said
