KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Ashraf Mahmood Wathra has directed the bank employees to fulfil their duties sincerely and keep on improving service standards as per Quaid’s vision.
He said this during a ceremony to mark Independence Day of Pakistan at SBP Headquarters in Karachi. The SBP governor hoisted the national flag amidst thunderous applause.
In his inaugural address the SBP governor congratulated the audience of Independence Day. He recalled that Muslims of subcontinent achieved the dream of Pakistan under dynamic leadership of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. The governor felt satisfaction that State Bank of Pakistan has achieved several milestones right after its inception which will have long lasting impact on country’s economy.
Wathra said several important economic reforms including legislative changes have been completed during the last three years, which will promote economic growth and its benefits to the general public Governor mentioned formation of independent Monetary Policy Committee; disclosure of minutes of Monetary Policy Committee; approval of Deposit Protection Corporation Bill by Parliament; Financial Institutional (Recovery of Finances) Amendment Bill and removal of impediments for growth of SMEs through secured transaction bill of 2016 as some of the achievements made by State Bank of Pakistan. He said Pakistan is the first country in SAARC region to form an independent monetary policy committee.
The SBP governor said the IMF program has been completed successfully for the first time in the history of the country. Governor added that inflation has come down to 2.9 percent in FY16 which is lowest for the last 47 years whereas real GDP growth rate is 4.7 percent. He said these signs bode well for country’s economy. He urged upon the need of increase in private sector investments’ for growth of country’s economy.
The governor recalled that he had announced launching revamped version of State Bank’s website in order to provide easy access to available information about SBP policies and economic and financial data, and thereby making its functioning more transparent. Wathra said though State Bank has been spreading information to the public through its website, however, room for its improvement was being felt for quite some time. He said he was happy to inaugurate revamped website of State Bank along with its Urdu version to further spread its information and data to people of Pakistan.
