KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) celebrated the Independence Day anniversary of Pakistan on August 14 at the SBP headquarters in Karachi. SBP Governor Tariq Bajwa started the formal proceedings by planting a tree at the Bank premises and later hoisted the national flag amidst thunderous applause as the colourful event commenced with the recitation of verses from the Holy Quran and subsequently playing of the national anthem. Bajwa later announced to start a tree plantation campaign across all 16-field offices of SBP spread across the country.
The Governor reminded the nation in general and youth of the country in particular that Pakistan had not come into being just because of the end of the British rule, rather Muslims of the sub-continent, had rendered supreme sacrifices for its creation under the selfless and courageous leadership of Quaid-e-Azam, Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
Highlighting the importance of the day, Bajwa said it was heartening to note that the democratic process is continuing and that the members of the newly elected national assembly took their oaths on Monday, which is a good omen for the country. He was confident that the journey towards the improvement in economic conditions would continue unabated and assured that SBP will continue providing complete support to the newly elected government within its domain.
Governor felt satisfaction that Pakistan had achieved success on various fronts including economic progress right after its inception. “State Bank of Pakistan has been discharging its responsibilities as a custodian of country’s financial system,” he added. He, however, conceded that there had been challenges on the economic front.
Bajwa briefly revisited the long-term steps taken by the SBP aimed at improving economic conditions in the country. These include ensuring price stability through improvement in the monetary policy framework. “This stability supports economic growth, which in turn could lead to improved quality of life in addition to preserving the value of saving,” said the Governor.
He said that the banking sector had registered an impressive asset expansion largely due to robust growth in advances to the private sector. However, he emphasised the need for expanding banking products for all tiers of the economy, in particular, SMEs, agriculture and financially excluded segments of the society. “SMEs are among priority sectors for their significant role in any economy but they have largely been ignored,” said the Governor. He said SBP had recently introduced the policy for promoting SME Finance and hoped it will increase Bank’s lending to SMEs.
The SBP Governor siad that financial inclusion is important for monetary stability and economic development and for this purpose, National Financial Inclusion Strategy was launched in 2015 that aims to increase the number of account holders to 50 per cent of the total adult population by 2020. The Governor also briefly threw light on Asan Mobile Account and Branchless banking which are expected to help increase financial inclusion in the country.
The Governor said that Pakistan, like other developing countries, has been facing a shortage of housing units and there is a shortage of an estimated 10 million housing units in the country. One of the key constraints hampering supply of housing units is the unavailability of financing. In order to address this issue, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), in consultation with relevant stakeholders, has developed a policy for the promotion of low-cost housing finance in Pakistan. He showed optimism that financial institutions would divert their resources towards this important sector.
The open house highlighted the history of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) by displaying different images and videos. Pakistan Security Printing Corporation (PSPC) displayed printing of currency. A separate stall with an ATM machine was also arranged that presented the ATM functions and a brief on how to avoid ATM frauds.
Commemorative coins, prize bonds and postal stamps were made available for the audience to purchase. To promote the innovation of digital banking channels, several commercial banks placed their stalls to demonstrate the applicability of digital banking.
