KARACHI: The banking sector would remain resilient to Covid-19 under most reasonable shock scenarios, reflecting the strong capital and liquidity positions of the majority of players, the Financial Stability Review (FSR) issued by the SBP said on Monday.

“It is encouraging that the strong capital buffers built over the years have significantly enhanced the resilience of Pakistan’s banking sector,” the review said.

Consolidated asset base of the financial sector expanded by 11.74 per cent during CY19; higher than the 7.46pc growth recorded in the previous year.

Banking — the largest segment of the sector — was the major contributor to this growth. Financial markets — after remaining volatile in 1HCY19 — observed stability in the second half as operations in forex smoothed after the transition to a market-based exchange rate system.

A key highlight of the FSR is that the banking sector has remained resilient, with robust solvency, backed by healthy profitability. The Capital Adequacy Ratio improved to 17pc, well above global and domestic minimum regulatory requirements of 10.5pc and 11.5pc, respectively.

Earnings of the banking sector surged by 14.3pc to Rs170 billion in CY19, a turnaround after the contraction of previous few years. Higher interest income rose the Net Interest Margin to 4pc, a 60 basis point rise.

Accordingly, profitability indicators like the return on assets and equity also improved. While demand for financing weakened amid sluggish economic conditions, bank assets expanded by 11.73pc in CY19, primarily due to a surge in investment in treasury instruments. Though asset quality saw some deterioration, most of the Non-Performing Loans continued to be fully provisioned.

The deposit base also exhibited a marked recovery, expanding by 11.92pc, and provided the resources to support asset growth.

The FSR suggests that the performance of the Islamic Banking Institutions (IBIs) also remained remarkable during 2019 with their assets jumping by 23.52pc and profitability upwards.

Nevertheless, healthy inflow into their deposits further complicated the liquidity deployment challenges for the IBIs as they continued to face limited Sharia-compliant investment opportunities.

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2020