In a circular issued on Friday, The State Bank of Pakistan has banned foreign visits of banks’ officials in groups for an indefinite period over concerns related to the rationale behind such travels.
The circular stated that bank employees’ overseas travel in teams – in partnership with certain “third parties” –appears suspicious and is leading to unnecessary foreign exchange outflow.
Highlighting the issue, SBP stated that these international tours were carried out for “management meetings [and] reward for achieving sales/business targets.”
The SBP specified that foreign visits on an individual basis are allowed if conducted for “for advanced trainings, technology acquisition and occasional Board of Directors’ meetings or to manage their overseas networks.” However, travel plans must align with the current policies.
In addition, the central bank requires all domestic banks to draft a Foreign Travel Policy and submit it to the SBP by June 13, 2017.
