PM directs no leniency for banks slow in providing loans to farmers, SMEs

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Monday directed that no leniency should be shown to banks who were slow in providing loans to farmers, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and consumers under the Prime Minister’s Apna Ghar Scheme.

The scheme was launched by the prime minister in April, under which housing and construction loans of up Rs10 million were to be given on easy instalments.

In a handout issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Monday, the prime minister chaired a review meeting on facilitating the provision of loans to priority sectors.

“Improving the economy through the development of SMEs, housing, and agriculture and providing employment to youth is the government’s top priority,” PM Shehbaz was quoted as saying.

He added that banks demonstrating good performance in the easy provision of loans to agriculture, housing, and SMEs under government initiatives are commendable.

“No leniency should be shown by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the Ministry of Finance toward banks showing adopting a slow pace in providing loans to farmers, SMEs, and consumers under the Prime Minister’s Apna Ghar Scheme as per government initiatives,” PM Shehbaz stressed.

“Banks are key for the development of the private sector,” the prime minister said. He added that they were expected to extend the same cooperation in the provision of loans for priority sectors as the cooperation the government and government institutions extended to them.

“SMEs have the full potential to drive economic growth, promote exports, and create employment opportunities,” PM Shehbaz emphasised.

He underlined that the agriculture sector served as the backbone of the national economy, and efforts were underway to increase exports through value addition of agricultural commodities.

“The Prime Minister’s Apna Ghar Scheme will boost several industries associated with the housing and construction sector,” the prime minister affirmed.

According to the handout, the prime minister directed the finance minister to resolve “financing-related issues for stakeholders in the SMEs sector, agriculture, housing and to prepare a comprehensive action plan”.

He further instructed the SBP and Federal Board of Revenue to jointly resolve “tax issues for SMEs and exporters, as well as to develop a comprehensive strategy for risk coverage to facilitate easy loan provision to SMEs”.

The statement further said that the meeting was informed that the SBP was working on three fundamental pillars to increase the provision of loans to priority sectors, including improvements in regulations, risk and cost-sharing partnerships between the government and banks and the promotion of digital facilities.

It said that a digital portal had recently been launched, through which businesspersons would be able to apply for loans and track the progress of their applications. The meeting was briefed that significant progress had been made by the SBP in providing loans on a priority basis to housing, agriculture, and SMEs.

It said that under the Prime Minister’s Apna Ghar Scheme, loans worth Rs511 billion have been approved up to October 23. It added that 86,899 loans have been approved and 15,584 applicants have been disbursed loans worth Rs91bn. In the housing finance sector, the total volume of loans has reached Rs455bn, and the number of beneficiary borrowers has risen to 187,317, the statement said.

“The meeting was informed that in the agricultural sector, the loan volume stands at Rs1,329bn, with nearly 3.5 million beneficiaries, while in the SMEs sector, the loan volume is Rs1,148bn and the number of businesspersons obtaining loans has reached 342,458,” the handout said.

The briefing stated that targets have been set to increase the loan volume in the agricultural and SME sectors to Rs1,500bn by the end of current fiscal year, it informed.

“The meeting was told that risk-sharing and credit-guarantee initiatives have also been introduced by the government for the housing, agriculture and SME sectors, while work is also ongoing on simplifying the procedure for obtaining loans, reducing required documentation and improving access to financial resources through a digital system,” the statement said.