KARACHI: Three quarters of loan disbursements under the Prime Minister’s Youth Business Loan (PMYBL) scheme were in Punjab, according to the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) quarterly report issued on Friday.

Loans under the PMYBL registered quarterly growth of 107 per cent in Oct-Dec 2016, it showed.

A region-wise break-up of the received applications until December 31, 2016 shows that 55,838 applications, or 75pc of total, came from Punjab alone.

Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had a share of 9pc each in total applications received under the scheme. “Almost a similar trend prevails as far as the disbursement of loans under the scheme is concerned. Punjab has the share of around 75pc in total loans disbursed under the PMYBL followed by KP and Sindh with a share of 9pc and 8pc, respectively,” said the report.

The scheme was launched by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif with Rs100bn. His daughter Maryam Nawaz was the head of the scheme, but she resigned after the Lahore High Court asked the federal government to replace her.

In a visit to Karachi a few months back, the prime minister showed dismay at the low disbursement of loans under the scheme. National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) also came under fire as it is the largest loan provider under the scheme. NBP provided Rs20.35bn out of total Rs21.13bn sanctioned through the PMYBL.

As many as Rs9.14bn was disbursed in Oct-Dec 2016, registering growth of 107pc over the preceding three-month period, with major contribution coming from NBP, the report said.

The SBP governor had to resign before completing his term when the PML-N assumed power in 2013. The president of NBP was also changed, giving rise to speculations that the PMYBL scheme was a political venture.

The fact that 75pc loans were disbursed in Punjab supports the earlier speculation about the political use of the scheme.

“Punjab has the largest share with respect to the number of applications received, sanctioned and disbursed under the scheme, followed by KP and Sindh,” said the report.

Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan, AJK and Balochistan had a share of 2pc each in total disbursements as of Dec 31.

Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2017