March 19, 2002	Tuesday	Muharram 4, 1423

KARACHI, March 18: Khushhali Bank has disbursed about Rs255 million to the needy people and our recovery rate is 100 per cent, said Ghalib Nishtar, President of the bank, while speaking at the IBA-HBL conference on Banking and Finance here on Monday.

He said that out of 27,000 loans that have been serviced, approximately 40 per cent of the borrowers are women.

Pointing out that the bank is operating in 30 districts of the country, Ghalib said that success of the bank has shattered the myth that destitute people cannot save and manage themselves financially.

Talking about the global challenges to poverty alleviation, he said that about 1.3 billion of the world’s population are living in abject poverty — without adequate food, clean drinking water, sanitation or healthcare and also without education.

He informed that Khushhali Bank engages in a community-based lending programme and extends collateral-free loans ranging between Rs3,000 to Rs30,000 to the poor people whose needs are not serviced by commercial banks.—APP