KARACHI
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Friday celebrated the Independence Day with the announcement of its five-year financial strategy - SBP Vision-2020 - to strengthen and stabilise financial system of the country.
During interaction with media after flag hosting ceremony at main SBP building here Friday, SBP Governor Ashraf Mehmood Wathra said that for taking more benefits from China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) both the countries should trade in their own currencies. He said Pakistani banks have made arrangements for the businessmen to open L/Cs in China.
To a question about devaluation of Chinese currency, he said Chinese economy has an ideal rate of growth and can easily absorb the devaluation and that there will be still more exports.
Referring to next five-year financial strategy named SBP Vision 2020, Wathra said the central bank has been making five-year financial strategy after every 5 years. But, he continued, for making this plan more productive through its true implementation SBP has included certain safeguards so that the five-year financial plan might not disturb with any change of SBP leadership over the period.
“Last five years financial strategy was also good but could not produce the desired result due to change of three SBP governors over the period,” he elaborated. He said under the SBP Vision 2020, the focus would be on financial inclusion.
He regretted that of total population of more than 180 million, only 34 million people are included in financial system. However, the launching of branchless banking brought around eight million new account holders and more are expected in the coming days.
He emphasized the need for more efforts and incentives to encourage the people for their savings and be a part of the financial system.
SBP governor urged the local media to be responsible while reporting on economic and financial matters of the country. “Some times, we are embarrassed abroad when we have to clarify negative queries only because of irresponsible reporting of our media,” he contended.
He informed the media that SBP communication team tries its best to forward information to media and the public in Urdu language. However, this could not be done at a large scale as most of the material /information related to economy and finance in the world is in English.
“We need to empower all staff members to help deliver SBP Vision 2020 and drive the organization’s change. In this respect, our core values of Integrity, Accountability, Teamwork, Courage, Excellence and Result orientation shall be the focus for further inculcation into the SBP culture, said Wathra.
He said SBP Vision 2020 organizes activities around the six strategic imperatives which include: enhancing the effectiveness of monetary policy; strengthening the financial system stability regime; improving the efficiency, effectiveness, and fairness of the banking system; increasing financial inclusion; developing modern and robust payments systems; and strengthening SBP’s organizational efficiency and effectiveness.
He said a strong economic system based on strong institutions is the key to progress. No nation can hope to grow without a robust financial system and powerful economy.
The SBP Governor said despite challenges Pakistan managed established a central bank and a viable economic system early on. Although our economy has had many rises and falls and has sometimes seen crises, he believed there is still enormous potential for growth and the economy is now headed in the right direction.
He said on this auspicious occasion, around 50 percent of Pakistan’s adult population has no access to financial services such as formal savings, payments, deposits, credit or insurance. Despite efforts, the level of financial inclusion has remained very low, and the need for a new comprehensive national strategy has been recognized. Following extensive development and consultation, the National Financial Inclusion Strategy was launched in May 2015.
He said SBP Vision 2020 with respect to increasing financial inclusion is closely linked to implementation of the NFIS. The NFIS creates the foundation for SBP, the Government and private sector to implement a comprehensive set of coherent and sequenced reforms needed to make a meaningful impact on financial inclusion in Pakistan. The NFIS will guide efforts to promote financial inclusion over the coming five years. Apart from its core functions, the SBP is playing an important role in preserving the cultural heritage of the country.
Wathra said State Bank of Pakistan is one of the few institutions that are the pride of the country. In spite of hazards and challenges, it has made great strides towards the goal of taking the economy to new heights. Pakistan’s vibrant banking industry is an example of the unremitting efforts that the past and present employees of the SBP have been making.
He however said there is still a long way to move forward. There are many, many milestones that remain for us to conquer.
“Let us make a firm resolve today that we will live up to the ideals of the Quaid-e-Azam and further our efforts to achieve the ends for which the State Bank of Pakistan was established” the SBP Governor concluded.