KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Tariq Bajwa on Tuesday expressed firm commitment to increase number of account holders to 50 per cent of the total adult population by 2020.

Addressing a ceremony held at SBP headquarters to mark the 71st Independence Day, Bajwa said financial inclusion is important for monetary stability and economic development. Towards achieving these objectives, National Financial Inclusion Strategy was launched in 2015.

The governor was hopeful that Asan Mobile Account and Branchless banking are expected to help increase financial inclusion.

Bajwa said the banking sector had registered an impressive asset expansion largely due to robust growth in advances to private sector. However, he emphasised the need for expanding banking products for all tiers of the economy, in particular small and medium enterprises, agriculture and financially excluded segments of the society.

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

He said the SBP had recently introduced a policy for promoting SME finance and hoped it will increase bank lendings to small and medium enterprises.

Bajwa said that Pakistan, like other developing countries, has been facing a shortage of 10 million housing units.

On July 18, the State Bank, in consultation with all relevant stakeholders, had announced a housing policy to promote low-cost housing finance.

Another source of funding for housing was created as Pakistan Mortgage Refinance Company (PMRC) by providing liquidity to banks for housing finance. The government (National Bank of Pakistan and Ministry of Finance) holds 49pc stake while private sector banks hold majority 51pc stake in PMRC.

The SBP governor was confident that the journey towards improvement in economic conditions would continue unabated by supporting the coming government.

“State Bank will continue providing complete support to the newly elected government within its domain,” he said.

The SBP governor expressed satisfaction that Pakistan had achieved success on various fronts including economic progress right after its inception. “State Bank of Pakistan has been discharging its responsibilities as custodian of the country’s financial system,” he added. He, however, admitted that there are numerous challenges on economic front.

Published in Dawn, August 15th, 2018