Senate panel approves amendments to SBP Act amid opposition

A Senate committee on Wednesday approved amendments to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Act, requiring commercial banks to lend in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and Balochistan equal to 60% of the deposits being raised from the two underdeveloped provinces. The amendment was proposed after it was revealed that cumulative lending in these provinces amounted to just 1.33% of the total bank lending, even below the 2.5% charity rate. While banks were raising funds from these provinces, loans were being disbursed primarily in Punjab and Sindh. The Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue approved the amendments proposed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Mohsin Aziz. However, the SBP and the Ministry of Finance opposed the amendment, raising concerns about its passage through the Senate and National Assembly. In a separate matter, the committee's proposal to grant the Senate chairman the authority to increase Senators' salaries did not go through after Secretary Finance Imdad Ullah Bosal requested more time to respond.