ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed the removal of obstacles hindering financial resource allocation to the housing, agriculture, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) sectors, in a bid to streamline and enhance the credit system.
According to Radio Pakistan, the Prime Minister issued these directives during a review meeting focused on access to finance, held in Islamabad. He emphasized the creation of an SME portal by the end of next month to facilitate loan access for small and medium enterprises, enabling real-time monitoring of banks’ loan provisions and other business facilities.
The Prime Minister instructed the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority to adopt measures aimed at improving SME capacity, promoting modern technology, boosting productivity, and integrating local enterprises into global value chains. The meeting also assessed the National Bank of Pakistan and the First Women Bank’s performance in loan provision.
Acknowledging the National Bank of Pakistan’s seventy-six percent approval rate in housing finance, Prime Minister Sharif urged the bank’s newly appointed president to engage top professionals to enhance performance and enforce disciplinary action against non-performing employees. He also called for the acceleration of land record digitization across provinces to facilitate housing finance transparency and ease.
The meeting highlighted the approval of seventy-one thousand six hundred and ninety loans under the Prime Minister’s Apna Ghar Scheme, amounting to four hundred and twenty-six billion rupees, with seventy-six billion rupees disbursed to thirteen thousand two hundred and fourteen individuals. A target has been set to provide seven hundred billion rupees in loans for one hundred and twenty-five thousand housing units within the year.
In agriculture, the total loan volume has reached one thousand three hundred and fifty-two billion rupees, benefiting over three million individuals. The aim is to increase lending to one thousand five hundred billion rupees and extend benefits to four and a half million people by June next year.
For SMEs, loans totaling one thousand one hundred and thirty-seven billion rupees have been distributed to three hundred and fifty thousand businesses, with a target to expand this to one thousand five hundred billion rupees, covering five hundred and sixty-five thousand businesses by June 2027.
The meeting also discussed measures to facilitate SME financing access, encourage technological investments, and enable international market competition. Plans include revising SME regulations and simplifying housing finance mechanisms.
Additional strategies involve joint risk-sharing mechanisms, supply-chain financing promotion, authenticated data sharing, and digital systems to minimize bank visits for small loan seekers.