ZTBL waived off Rs 21.5b worth of loans during last ten years: Senate informed

The Senate was informed that Rs 21.5b including Rs 8.7b principal and Rs 12.8b mark up were waived off or written off to 313,392 borrowers by the banks during last ten years (2006-07 to March 31, 2017).
Giving replies to the House on behalf of the Finance Minister, Khurram Dastgir Khan, Minister for Commerce informed the House that the amount of Rs 21.5b includes Rs. 14.5b were waived or written off by Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) during the same period.
Out of the total waivers, Rs 2.13b were written-off under Prime Minister’s Relief Package for war-affected areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK)/Malakand and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in 2009-10, he said.
He stated that in Balochistan, a number of agriculture loans amounting to Rs 2.1b were waived or written off to 14,477 farmers during last ten years, out of which Rs. 1.37b were waived or written off by ZTBL. This includes Rs. 1.4b (Rs. 0.531b Principal and Rs. 0.841b markup) waived off against tube wells financing.
Khurram Dastgir said currently an amount of Rs. 2.9b is outstanding against 5,991 tube wells in Balochistan and the government is considering its settlement in the upcoming budget.
Answering a supplementary question, the minister said, the loans that have been outstanding for more than a year, would be adjusted. But, it would not be as a policy matter as if we shall do so, it becomes a moral hazard in financial terms.
Answering another question, the minister informed the House that during
the last four years from 2013 to 2016, ZTBL has granted new loans amounting to Rs 66,376.303m to 269,889 borrowers.
Giving province-wise detail, he said, new loans granted during 2013 to 2016 include Rs 519.025m for farmers in Azad Kashmir, Rs 453.673m for Balochistan, Rs 790.551m for Gilgit-Baltistan, Rs 3624.144m for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Rs 56,635.102m for Punjab and Rs 7353.807m loans have been disbursed to farmers as agricultural loans.
During the last four years from 2013 to 2016, the Bank has rolled over 21,691 loan cases amounting to Rs 4,872.588m including Rs 35.021m for farmers in Azad Kashmir, Rs 91.887m for Balochistan, Rs 124.670m for Gilgit-Baltistan, Rs 553.191m for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Rs 2882.851m for Punjab and Rs 1184.968m loans were rolled off for the farmers in Sindh province.