KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday extended further flexibility for the health sector under its Refinance Facility to Combat Covid-19 (RFCC).

Through a circular the central bank allowed hospitals and medical centres to obtain subsidised financing against the existing equipment and purchase of refurbished equipment as well, provided the same are used in creation of special facility/isolation ward to deal with Covid-19.

Moreover, maximum coverage of 60 per cent of civil works for setting up separate/isolation facility has also been enhanced to 100pc with banks directed to ensure that financing under this facility is utilised for the intended purpose.

In another move, the SBP also extended its own services to commercial banks’ clients in case of no response from the banks.

The central bank through another circular announced that complainants who do not get an appropriate response from banks can approach the SBP helpline (021-111-727-273) which will remain available during office hours.”

For catering to the needs of the public for facilitation and guidance, the SBP has enhanced its helpline capacity by deploying more agents at its call centre,” it adds.

It also advised the public not to disclose or share any personal information about their bank accounts or credit/debit cards including CNIC, debit or credit card number, passwords, PINs and one-time password (OTP) etc on incoming phone calls or messages.

This warning comes after some fraudsters, imitating as officials of SBP, bank or any other government agency, have been attempting to seek personal information from the public on the pretext of verification of account due to emergency conditions under Covid-19 pandemic.

Published in Dawn, April 7th, 2020