Two commercial banks, Bank AL Habib (BAHL) and Allied Bank Limited (ABL), on Friday obtained licenses for the commencement of operations of their exchange companies.Â
This development is in line with the reforms introduced by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) last year to curb illicit practices in the currency market.Â
Bank AL Habib Limited (BAHL) informed the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) that the SBP has issued the license for the commencement of operations to AL Habib Exchange Company (Private) Limited, a fully-owned subsidiary of the bank.Â
The issuance of the operational license to Bank Al Habib by the SBP follows the prior issuance of the Certificate of Incorporation to the exchange company by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP).
Similarly, Allied Bank Limited (ABL) shared with the PSX that it has also been issued a license by the SBP for the commencement of operations to ABL Exchange (Private) Limited.
ABL announced in September last year to establish a wholly-owned exchange company, with an initial capital of Rs 1 billion.Â
On Friday, the State Bank of Pakistan also granted a no objection certificate (NOC) to the Bank of Punjab for the establishment of an exchange company under the name BOP Exchange Company (PVT) Limited.
It is better to recall that the central bank, in September 2023, made a decisive move, and with the full force of the state launched a crackdown on exchange companies.Â
The SBP also unfurled a sweeping set of reforms targeting exchange companies and ordered the top ten banks to set up exchange companies.Â
While the National Bank of Pakistan and Habib Bank already had their own exchange companies, Meezan Bank, Allied Bank, Habib Metropolitan Bank, Bank Alfalah, Faysal Bank, Askari Bank and Bank Al Habib were also ordered to set them up.Â
The primary objective of these reforms was tightening control over the open market and fortifying governance, internal controls, and compliance standards within the sector.
