KARACHI: HBL represents Pakistan at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Interbank Association (SCO-IBA).
It is a great honour and achievement for HBL to represent Pakistan on the SCO banking forum, and to be the first and only commercial bank on this forum. At the forum’s virtual meeting held on 30 October 2020. Sultan Ali Allana, Chairman HBL, represented the bank.
During the meeting, participating countries signed two important documents, namely:
- Roadmap of the Interbank Consortium of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization for SCO economies to overcome the consequences of the pandemic.
- Joint approaches to expanding the use of national currencies in the SCO area
Commenting on the occasion, Allana said “Pakistan put in place impactful measures against COVID- 19 in fiscal and monetary space, thus ensuring liquidity in markets. I am proud to say HBL partnered with Government of Pakistan on many of these initiatives e.g. delivering +PKR 145 billion to +12 million low-income beneficiaries.
HBL also introduced measures for the financial wellbeing of its customers (e.g. payroll financing) and staff (medical treatment for staff and their dependents).
Moreover, we support the SCO-IBA’s step towards expanding settlements in national currencies as it will enhance trade between member countries. Members countries should also work towards making RMB a currency of choice between SCO member countries.”
