Employment is one particular area where repercussions are significant with an estimated 18 million people expected to lose their jobs. The State Bank of Pakistan and our financial institutions are playing an instrumental role in making sure that the adverse effects are diluted as much as possible. The payroll financing scheme is one that has been crucial in not just saving thousands of jobs but also making sure that salaries are paid in time.

Many banks including Standard Chartered, JS Bank and Faysal Bank extended payroll financing to organisations which applied for it. JS Bank, for instance, has so far provided financing of more than PKR9 billion to more than 168 clients.

Other banks have similar figures and cumulatively, these schemes have allowed organizations faced with squeezed revenues to keep operations going. Payroll financing has played a substantial role in stabilizing the economy and the banks which forwarded this facility to their clients must be appreciated.

MUHAMMAD ALAMGIR KHAN,

Islamabad.