KARACHI: Fair and firm will be the guiding principles for the central bank’s future interactions with banks, said State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Tariq Bajwa on Wednesday.

In his first meeting with presidents and CEOs of all commercial banks, Mr Bajwa shared his vision of a regulatory body that is fair and firm with the regulated entities.

The governor said he will try to promote agricultural financing, help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) access financial services and address disparities emanating from the limited financial intermediary role and small footprint of the banking industry in Balochistan.

The governor urged banks to proactively play their due role in achieving these objectives for inclusive economic growth and employment generation. He stated the agriculture sector offers tremendous opportunities for achieving higher economic growth.

He said SMEs are neglec­ted by banks, although they are the backbone of the industrial sector. The SBP and commercial banks need to proactively work for the development of SMEs, he said.

He also showed commitment to promoting Isla­mic banking, saying its major issues, such as the issuance of sukuk for liquidity management, will be resolved.

Other issues that were discussed in the meeting included rescheduling/restructuring of non-performing loans of the textile industry, facilitation of retail customers regarding foreign exchange services at bank branches and adoption of PayPak cards.

Published in Dawn, July 20th, 2017