The external debt repayments further slashed the foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) by $72 million to $4.31 billion during the week ending on May 12, announced the central bank on Thursday. While the fear of default is haunting the country, the declining remittances and FDI inflows put the SBP’s reserves in a weaker position. Miftah Ismail, the former finance mini
The State Bank has warned banks that they would be held responsible for lost account holder funds if they failed to take preventive measures to combat social engineering and other digital banking frauds on time. “Banks are required to compensate the customers due to delay on their part in taking timely remedial and control measures such as delay in blocking digital channels, delay in raising di
Without the IMF umbrella, Pakistan’s external financing pipeline appeared drying up as it received 38 per cent lower inflows — only $8.1 billion in the first 10 months (July-April) of the current fiscal year against over $13bn in the same period last year. The pace of dwindling inflows could also be seen from the fact that $8.1bn receipts in 10 months of this fiscal year stood at just 35.5pc of
Share prices settled on the lower side after hovering within a short range throughout the trading session on Wednesday. Arif Habib Ltd said the benchmark of representative shares traded in the green initially but moved both ways later on because of political noise as well as recent developments on the front of the International Monetary Fund programme. Stocks dipped in the final trading hou
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that oil production cuts were required to maintain a certain price level, contradicting assurances from other leaders of the Opec+ group of producers that it was not seeking to manage the market in that way. The United States and Europe have accused Russia of weaponising energy to contain the West in its drive to weaken Moscow’s military campai