SECP appoints registrar for Secured Transactions Registry

• Housed at the SECP head office, the registry will facilitate small-scale borrowers in obtaining secured credit from formal financial institutions

ISLAMABAD: In the wake of the federal government’s notification to establish the Secured Transactions Registry, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has appointed a registrar for the said registry.

The registry has been mandated to implement an effective regulatory and enforcement mechanism for registration of charges/security interests created on assets by an entity, especially on the movable assets of borrowers. Housed at the SECP head office, it will facilitate small-scale borrowers in obtaining secured credit from formal financial institutions.

The federal government issued the above-mentioned notification in exercise of the powers conferred upon it by section 19 (1) of the Financial Institutions (Secured Transactions) Act, 2016.

At present, a few sectors in Pakistan face constraints in obtaining secured credit from financial institutions. Such inaccessibility is partially due to their inability to offer collaterals acceptable to the financial markets – hence the establishment of the registry is one of the most emphasized recent reforms.