SBP Governor stresses on financial inclusion, SME finance, low cost housing finance

Tariq Bajwa, Governor State Bank of Pakistan, has stressed on the need for financial inclusion in the country, reiterating the importance of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy launched in 2015.

Addressing a conference held at SBP headquarters in Karachi on Tuesday, August 14 2018 to celebrate the 71^st Independence Day, he said that SBP aims to lead an increase in the number of account holders to at least 50 percent of the total adult population by 2020.

Among other things, Bajwa also stressed on the need to facilitate Small-to-Medium enterprises, in particular, the need for expanding banking products for this sector.

“SMEs are among priority sectors for the significant role in any economy but they have largely been ignored,” he said.

Expressing his sincere hopes that SBP’s policy efforts would bring fruit, he reiterated the fact that State Bank had introduced a policy for promoting SME finance but it was up to the banks to act on it in full spirit. However, he hoped that banks would increase their lending to this sector.

Bajwa further emphasized the need to promote low cost housing finance in the country, as there is a shortage of an estimated 10 million housing units in the country. The State Bank of Pakistan has recently issued a draft policy for this very purpose.