Islamabad: Officials from three international banks Citibank, Standard Chartered Bank and Deutsche Bank involved in the floating of $500m Eurobonds two years ago have been summoned by a Parliamentary panel as decided on Tuesday.
An investigation into this floating is being conducted by the Senate Standing Committee on Finance which is trying to ascertain whether money invested in these bonds by foreigners outflowed from Pakistan or not.
Chairman, Senate Standing Committee on Finance, Saleem Manviwalla said that officials from these three issues have been summoned to appear before the parliamentary panel in the next meeting.
Finance Secretary, Shahid Mahmood didn’t have the required information available to share with the committee and hence the meeting lasted a mere 10 minutes.
And the current governor of State Bank of Pakistan, Tariq Bajwa said that his institution had nothing to do with this bond issue and none of its officials had taken part in any role whatsoever. He added, that the bond issue was linked to the Finance ministry only.
$500m worth of Eurobonds with a ten-year maturity were issued by the government back in September 2015 on the international market at an interest rate of 8.25pc. The interest rate offered was 6.12pc above the US treasury bond rate at that point of time.
Pakistani banks Bank Alfalah and United Bank Limited were said to have contributed almost 14pc of the $500m invested in the Eurobonds and it was their overseas branches which carried out the due-process of investment.
