Banking - BR Research - Business Recorder

Banking

Encashment deadline for withdrawn prize bonds extended

KARACHI: The federal government has announced its decision to extend the last date for encashment of withdrawn prize...

Published 28 Dec, 2022 04:12am

Banking

China central bank publishes disclosure rules for credit bonds

The rules are amied at improving the quality of information disclosure, helping enhance transparency and protect investors.

Published 28 Dec, 2020 05:40pm

Banking

Italy's UniCredit says board would never agree to harmful deal

French CEO of UniCredit said M&A was "no panacea".
Mustier at odds with Italy's consolidation drive.
Italy has been seeking buyer for Monte dei Paschi.
JPMorgan says successor will have "big shoes to fill".

Published 02 Dec, 2020 02:15am

Banking

US bank profits recover from early 2020 turmoil, still down from year prior

The industry's profits jumped 173% in the third quarter to $51.2 billion, after firms spent the first half of the year setting aside billions of dollars to offset expected pandemic-driven losses.
The banking industry remains well-capitalized with ample liquidity and has, to date.

Published 02 Dec, 2020 12:24am

Banking

Debt debate – context would not hurt!

Lately, a few commentators have been talking on public debt, and the narrative is populist. In economics, absolute numbe

Updated 03 Dec, 2019 11:39am

Banking

The brave new banking world

‘Banks want to play tech companies,’ read a headline in this newspaper earlier this month. Given a private sector ch

Updated 20 Nov, 2019 06:21am

Banking

Banking: Big five take decent strides

The big five (B5) banks lent almost similar amount to the private sector in 9MCY19, that they did a year ago. The net ad

Updated 05 Nov, 2019 06:16am

Banking

NBP 9MCY19: Sound and strong

National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) has continued its strong performance, as reflected by strong profit numbers for 9MCY19.

Updated 31 Oct, 2019 08:11am

Banking

SBP focuses Investment constraints

The SBP in its recently released annual report has incorporated a chapter on factors constraining investment in Pakistan

Updated 30 Oct, 2019 06:46am

Banking

Doing business: beyond World Bank rankings

Pakistan’s poor ranking on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business indicators is one of the main deterrents to growth in

Updated 28 Oct, 2019 06:40am

Banking

Bank Alfalah: upbeat profits

Bank Alfalah Limited (BAFL) posted double digit year-on-year growth in pretax profits for 9MCY19, despite the challengin

Updated 28 Oct, 2019 06:47am

Banking

Bank Al Habib profits grow

Bank Al Habib Limited (BAHL) is doing pretty well. It posted a sizable 30 percent year-on-year increase in pre-tax profi

Updated 25 Oct, 2019 06:02am

Banking

Demonetization: ‘objective’ matters

It is almost three years since the great macroeconomic experiment of "demonetization" had taken place in India. That so-

Updated 23 Oct, 2019 12:58pm

Banking

Ants, elephants, and SME finance

Access to affordable finance has long been labelled as one of the key obstacles to SME growth in Pakistan. But is that n

Updated 23 Oct, 2019 01:04pm

Banking

ABL goes smooth

Allied Bank Limited (ABL) announced its 9MCY19 financial results last week, accompanied with an interim dividend of Rs2

Updated 21 Oct, 2019 06:25am

Banking

All is well at MCB

The challenging economic conditions seem to have done no harm to MCB Bank’s profits. The bank also continued with the ri

Updated 18 Oct, 2019 06:02am

Banking

Profits grow at UBL

UBL announced its 9MCY19 financial results yesterday, making good strides, accompanied with an interim dividend of Rs3/s

Updated 17 Oct, 2019 07:25am

Banking

HBL: pretax profits up

Having had a slightly challenging 2QCY19, in terms of profitability, the country’s largest commercial bank, HBL stag

Updated 16 Oct, 2019 06:40am

Banking

Forget the heat - the flow is here

The hot money is getting hotter in Pakistan. At an unprecedented level of $234 million in Sep-19, the year to date inflo

Updated 23 Oct, 2019 01:39pm

Banking

NBP – impressive again

National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) keeps churning profits, and 1HCY19 was no different. Save from a higher effective tax ra

Updated 02 Sep, 2019 05:17am

Banking

Reported fiscal deficit – not too scary

Yesterday, the ministry of finance reported the fiscal deficit number at 8.9 percent of GDP or Rs3.44 trillion. This spa

Updated 28 Aug, 2019 06:57am

Banking

JSBL 1HCY19

JS Bank Limited has had it tough in 2019 so far. That should not come as a surprise as most sectors have had it tough th

Updated 28 Aug, 2019 06:50am

Banking

Scary fiscal deficit – don’t look at it

The country’s total debt and liabilities increased by 35 percent or Rs10.3 trillion in FY19 to reach Rs40.2 trillion – 1

Updated 27 Aug, 2019 11:38am

Banking

Changing sentiments?

Last week the news flow was positive; and the stock market reacted to it with 9 percent recovery. A fresh wave of positi

Published 26 Aug, 2019 06:46am

Banking

BOP: double digit growth

The Bank of Punjab (BOP) rode on the exemplary top line growth, which trickled down to the bottom line, posting a double

Published 26 Aug, 2019 06:05am

Banking

FDI: finding neverland

FDI data is here; FDI isn’t - unless one really counts those peanut-sized net inflows of $73.4 million in July 2019.

Updated 29 Aug, 2019 05:10am

Banking

Askari Bank marches on

The blueprint for banks this season – big, mid-sized and small, has been by and large the same. Bank on higher interest

Published 23 Aug, 2019 05:57am

Banking

The yield curve inversion

The market participated with full heart in the recent PIB auction, indicating that the pulse in rates is peaked. Market

Published 23 Aug, 2019 05:44am

Banking

Current account in control

The current account deficit is down to $579 million in July19; almost one fourth of what was in the July18 – just before

Published 22 Aug, 2019 06:50am

Banking

Bank Al Habib sails smooth

Bank Al Habib Limited (BAHL) posted a strong 1HCY19 financial performance, registering 21 percent year-on-year increase

Published 22 Aug, 2019 06:47am

Banking

ABL 1HCY19: well poised

Allied Bank Limited (ABL) posted its financial results for 1hCY19, accompanied with an interim dividend of Rs2 per share

Published 21 Aug, 2019 05:41am

Banking

BAFL takes steady strides

Having faced a slightly underpay 1QCY19. Bank Alfalah (BAFL) made a strong comeback in the second quarter, posting 14 pe

Published 20 Aug, 2019 05:26am

Banking

Re-profiling of central bank debt

There has been an exercise of re-profiling the government’s central bank debt – conversion of short term government debt

Published 19 Aug, 2019 06:35am

Banking

Sustaining remittances

A good start to FY20, worker remittances for July 2019 as per SBP’s recently released data has risen by 8 percent on a y

Published 19 Aug, 2019 06:08am

Banking

Enough tightening – time to change signals

Since the last monetary announcement in Pakistan, where policy rate was increased by 100 bps, the global market behavior

Published 16 Aug, 2019 05:37am

Banking

UBL: top line and bottom line grow

UBL has made good strides in 1HCY19. The bank announced its financial results for 1HCY19 earlier this week, accompanied

Published 09 Aug, 2019 06:58am

Banking

MCB shines in tough times

MCB Bank announced its 1HCY19 financial results yesterday, continuing the rich tradition of hefty dividends. There was a

Published 08 Aug, 2019 08:00am

Banking

Missing sovereign guarantees

The fate of Rs200 billion power sector Sukuk – to park circular debt in another company, and Rs20 billion market support

Published 08 Aug, 2019 07:39am

Banking

HBL: top line grows, bottom line doesn’t

Having had a decent first quarter, HBL underwent some pressure in the 2QCY1, as a drastic reduction in contribution form

Published 25 Jul, 2019 06:43am

Banking

Pakistan’s economic stepchild

Labour, not textile, is Pakistan’s biggest export. Measured by worker remittance flows, labour export is in fact nearly

Updated 13 Jan, 2020 09:51am

Banking

PEP: Damned if you do, damned if you don’t

This week, the central bank issued a fresh circular concerning opening of bank accounts of politically exposed persons o

Published 19 Jul, 2019 06:41am

Banking

Policy rate: Is this the peak?

Having complied with the IMF raising the interest rates by 150 bps in May 2019 as part of prior action, the Central bank

Published 17 Jul, 2019 07:20am

Banking

SBP doesn’t hold back

It looks like the monetary authority will not pull any punches. Reading between the lines, the State Bank of Pakistan’s

Published 17 Jul, 2019 07:16am

Banking

FDI – is manufacturing the missing link?

Volatile exchange rate, delay in the finalisation of IMF program and weaknesses at the fiscal and external front have al

Published 17 Jul, 2019 07:01am

Banking

External account: fully financed?

Both the IMF and the finance minister have declared that Pakistan is “fully financed” for FY20 to meet its external requ

Published 12 Jul, 2019 06:29am

Banking

Hold onto remittances

With hopes of economic revival still distant as exports continue to paint a dreary picture, banking on remittances to pr

Published 12 Jul, 2019 06:17am

Banking

Can DFS get merchants on board?

Bringing retailers on board is a huge challenge for Pakistan’s digital financial services (DFS) ecosystem. Next door, In

Published 11 Jul, 2019 06:35am

Banking

Wanted: a common payment interface

Not having a ubiquitous payment scheme has been a source of discomfort among freelancer community and e-commerce stores.

Published 28 Jun, 2019 05:54am

Banking

Bringing currency back

There is no stoppage to fiscal deficit growth. FBR collection by June end is likely to be less than last year. The next

Updated 24 Jun, 2019 07:03am

Banking

CAD: slippery again

The current account deficit (CAD) is starting to drift again. In April and May 2019, CAD’s monthly average crossed the b

Published 21 Jun, 2019 05:39am

Banking

Decision times: bold and cold

The strategy is to accumulate foreign currency from the local market at lucrative rates. The interest rates are rising,

Updated 20 Jun, 2019 08:13am

Banking

Poor FDI, unwelcoming environment

One area that needs policy focus – foreign investment in the country – continues to be neglected. Or perhaps the efforts

Published 20 Jun, 2019 06:49am

Banking

What should be on SBP governor’s agenda?

This week’s press conference, the first by Pakistan’s newest central bank governor, shows that Reza Baqir has finally st

Published 20 Jun, 2019 06:44am

Banking

Betting on remittances

That Pakistan received a significantly higher amount of remittances from overseas Pakistani’s is a much needed breather

Published 19 Jun, 2019 06:15am

Banking

Wait-and-see!

If yesterday’s press conference of SBP governor Dr Reza Baqir is any indication, all eyes are on controlling inflation t

Published 18 Jun, 2019 06:22am

Banking

No more tightening

The SBP Governor in a public gathering spoke about the interest rate determination. He was spot on to say that the objec

Published 17 Jun, 2019 06:46am

Banking

No credit to credit expansion

The decline in the economy is manifesting in the lending patterns to private sector businesses and consumers which is ar

Published 11 Jun, 2019 05:31am

Banking

Streamlining internal remittances

Rural to urban migration and hence diversification of income source can be key in addressing poverty in rural areas and

Published 03 Jun, 2019 07:11am

Banking

Inverted yield curve - a healthy sign

The MoF is one up. Market is one down. The PIB auction earlier this week surprised everyone, but it should not have come

Published 31 May, 2019 06:42am

Banking

Fiscal debt trap brewing

Is the government of Pakistan getting into a debt trap? Probably yes. Back in 2014, this space cautioned about the loomi

Published 29 May, 2019 04:58am

Banking

God’s gift to treasury

The economy is nose diving and it is time for banks to make merry in the PIBs bonanza. The IMF conditionality is creatin

Published 28 May, 2019 06:33am

Banking

Alarming fiscal deficit

Nothing is going right. The fiscal deficit stood at 5 percent of GDP in 9MFY19 - highest ever deficit since Pakistan sta

Published 22 May, 2019 03:54am

Banking

Why aren’t foreign investors betting on Pakistan?

“Pakistan is the land of opportunities”. So maintains the Overseas Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Hard data on the ot

Published 22 May, 2019 03:49am

Banking

Rise in inactive m-wallets

Much of the current government’s financial inclusion agenda depends on making digital transaction accounts (DTAs) grow i

Published 21 May, 2019 07:39am

Banking

MPS: A step too soon?

There was a strong noise of 150 bps increase; and it happened. The rumor had it as a prior IMF condition and this perhap

Published 21 May, 2019 07:08am

Banking

Rate hike unwarranted, yet likely

The genie is coming out of bottle. One of the IMF pre conditions of market based exchange rate is already manifested. No

Published 20 May, 2019 05:42am

Banking

Amnesty – right step but too small

Yet another amnesty scheme is announced. Do not expect any miracles in it, but at the same time, do not take it too casu

Published 16 May, 2019 06:14am

Banking

The ‘bombshell’ school of economics

The state of Pakistan’s economy is a new anguish of concern for the country’s media, politicians, and of course its citi

Published 16 May, 2019 06:12am

Banking

Prepone the monetary policy

The IMF deal is done; but uncertainty prevails. The market demands clarity on the quantum and timings of prior actions.

Published 15 May, 2019 06:32am

Banking

The deal is here

The IMF programme is finalized. In Naya Pakistan, it was announced in an old fashioned way by a technocrat FM in PTV 9 P

Published 14 May, 2019 05:42am

Banking

IMF: be counter-cyclical

Since the IMF’s statement regarding a staff-level loan agreement with Pakistan was released May 12, economic observers h

Published 14 May, 2019 05:26am

Banking

Remittances remain faithful

With the economy sailing into choppy waters, the growth in remittances continues to provide some shock mitigation capabi

Published 13 May, 2019 05:28am

Banking

Facilitating FDI investment

Pakistan’s foreign direct investment has been nothing to write home about. The 9MFY19 numbers have been dismal with FDI

Published 10 May, 2019 04:41am

Banking

Provinces-IMF meet: anything beyond goodwill?

The provincial finance ministers recently met the IMF. Goodwill messages ensued. If the press releases are any guide, th

Published 09 May, 2019 04:01am

Banking

En route IMF: beware of too much tightening

Nothing is certain on how the negotiations with the IMF culminate, as there is a complete change of economic team. Those

Published 08 May, 2019 06:26am

Banking

Of NPLs and banking courts

Banks in Pakistan lack credit robustness and one reason, apart from banks’ own laziness and higher government financing

Updated 29 Apr, 2019 10:00am

Banking

Allied Bank: doing just fine

Allied Bank Limited (ABL) announced its financial results for 1QCY19 accompanied with the first interim dividend of Rs2

Published 26 Apr, 2019 06:06am

Banking

HBL – pre-tax profit growth

Save for the retrospective imposition of Super Tax on 2017 profits, HBL delivered promising 1QCY19 results. Better still

Published 25 Apr, 2019 05:28am

Banking

MCB – no stopping the dividends

MCB Bank does not mind paying rich dividends. It announced another Rs4/share as first interim dividend yesterday, contin

Published 25 Apr, 2019 05:19am

Banking

Import led CAD breather

The current account deficit at $822 million for Mar19 is little higher than market expectations, but the direction is ri

Published 23 Apr, 2019 06:04am

Banking

The FDI gloom

Remittances have been growing and supporting the current account deficit; and the government and the central bank have b

Published 23 Apr, 2019 05:46am

Banking

Wanted: telecom FDI

It’s a season of doom for Pakistan’s overall net FDI, which fell 51 percent year-on-year – or $1.35 billion – in 9MFY19.

Published 22 Apr, 2019 06:20am

Banking

Shifting government deposits: tread with caution

The talks on implementing Treasury Single Account [TSA] are back in action. It is perhaps one of the IMF to be condition

Published 18 Apr, 2019 06:29am

Banking

PIBs – say no to high rates

The PIB auction is scheduled today. Recent behavior of auctions is erratic. With DG debt at the helm, Ministry of financ

Published 17 Apr, 2019 07:00am

Banking

T -Bills auction - bold move

The bid pattern of this week T-Bills auction brings no surprises. The market is expecting another rate hike in May 19 mo

Published 12 Apr, 2019 07:05am

Banking

Remittances - the saviour

The significance of remittances for Pakistan’s economy is well-documented; but the precarious nature of the country’s ec

Published 12 Apr, 2019 06:39am

Banking

Why all this tightening?

Earlier in 2017, when economic stresses were building with excess demand reflecting in the external account, the SBP was

Published 09 Apr, 2019 05:06am

Banking

Dollar outlook

In mid-October 2018, the interbank forex market was desperate for dollars – as desperate as it was in June 2013. The des

Updated 03 Mar, 2021 10:35am

Banking

Stable REER – no need for massive depreciation

The real effective exchange rate (REER) is getting stable. The number stood at 103.31 in Feb19 and last three months’ (D

Published 04 Apr, 2019 06:44am

Banking

Rate hike uncalled for

So, 50 bps it is. Get ready for the IMF; forget fundamentals or what is happening in the world. The IMF wants Pakistan p

Published 01 Apr, 2019 05:45am

Banking

Branchless banking: the power of two

The branchless banking (BB) segment, which is increasingly been seen by policymakers as a medium for financial inclusion

Published 01 Apr, 2019 05:10am

Banking

M-wallets: just a numbers game?

Another quarter, another round of growth for mobile wallets. As per the central bank’s latest publication on the Branchl

Published 29 Mar, 2019 05:53am

Banking

Interest rates: No rationale for hike

The monetary policy is due tomorrow - market expects no change to 75 bps increase in policy rate, currently at 10.25 per

Published 28 Mar, 2019 07:00am

Banking

Remittance from Malaysia rising

Remittances have played a crucial role for the balance of payment position of the country especially when exports have r

Published 28 Mar, 2019 06:43am

Banking

IMF programme – just around the corner

The IMF team is in Pakistan - final round of negotiations is underway, and it will be a continuous process till IMF-WB s

Published 27 Mar, 2019 05:41am

Banking

The moral hazard of sponsor-based lending

Research has long noted lack of scale in Pakistan’s corporate firms as one reason for their lack of competitiveness in f

Published 25 Mar, 2019 06:53am

Banking

Scary NIR - don't look at it

The current account deficit came down to 29 months low in Feb-19, and the trajectory is changing (read " Current account

Published 21 Mar, 2019 06:30am

Banking

An unsustainable strategy?

Being a donor helps when it comes to communicating on sensitive issues. The World Bank Group has done just that in Pakis

Published 21 Mar, 2019 06:18am

Banking

Current account in order – fiscal’s turn now

The current account deficit had starting growing at alarming levels since Oct16 and in Feb19 it is the lowest monthly de

Published 18 Mar, 2019 05:49am

Banking

Financial inclusion: paying lip service?

Following the approval of an “enhanced” National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) in November last year, it is good t

Published 18 Mar, 2019 05:31am

Banking

FDI plummets and diversifies

The government officials are busy boasting of the multi month low CAD achieved in February 2019. Good job. But they woul

Published 18 Mar, 2019 05:23am

Banking

M2 growth: amnesty calling?

The currency in circulation has always been high in Pakistan and it is a cause of concern for an economy where lack of d

Published 14 Mar, 2019 04:59am

Banking

Remittances on track

Remittance numbers for February 2019 are out. If you are looking whether Pakistan is on track to meet the full year targ

Published 12 Mar, 2019 05:11am

Banking

Microfinance: growing in numbers

Despite the political instability and economic worries through much of 2018, nothing could stop the microfinance juggern

Updated 08 Mar, 2019 06:17am

Banking

Banking: Tough year for big five

Profit making was tough last year for the banking sector. Interestingly, 2018 also saw banks do some real banking. Littl

Updated 08 Mar, 2019 06:15am

Banking

Sukuks to the rescue

The much-awaited Sukuk bond has been finally launched, amid much fanfare. The idea is to help reduce the infamous power

Published 07 Mar, 2019 05:35am

Banking

Readying for the IMF

A rumor is circulating on an agreement with the IMF on a $12 billion package soon. BR Research channel checks confirm th

Published 05 Mar, 2019 06:48am

Banking

NBP – record revenue

National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) has continued expanding its balance sheet, which stands at Rs2.8 billion, showing a near

Published 26 Feb, 2019 05:24am

Banking

“Services” at current account’s service

As expected, the current account deficit fell short of billion dollar mark per month - down by 17 percent to stand at $8

Published 25 Feb, 2019 06:05am

Banking

UBL: profits down

UBL had a difficult CY18 in terms of printability. That is one way of looking at banks. Another way is to look at the ba

Published 25 Feb, 2019 05:56am

Banking

Is SME finance really at historic high?

In an exercise of self-congratulations, the central bank announced this week that SME financing by Pakistani banks cross

Updated 27 Nov, 2019 10:10am

Banking

The fiscal headache

The one element that the federal government is unable to control in its early days is the fiscal deficit. On consolidate

Published 21 Feb, 2019 06:45am

Banking

HBL: lending and profits surge

While a few large banks are celebrating reaching the trillion rupee mark in terms of deposit – the largest of them all,

Published 21 Feb, 2019 06:43am

Banking

MCB: steady growth

MCB Bank announced its CY18 financial results yesterday, doling out another Rs4/share in final dividends – taking the fu

Published 21 Feb, 2019 06:41am

Banking

Does DFS require a fiscal boost?

The budget proposal season is upon us. This summer, PTI government will present its first full-year budget. While sector

Published 19 Feb, 2019 05:00am

Banking

Government borrowing: why the fuss?

Few renowned economists have been lately lamenting the abnormal growth in government borrowing from SBP in this fiscal y

Published 15 Feb, 2019 05:07am

Banking

Allied Bank: goes from strength to strength

Allied Bank Limited (ABL) announced its CY18 annual financial results, posting a 1 percent year-on-year increase in afte

Updated 15 Feb, 2019 05:56am

Banking

Remittances: good news and bad

Remittance inflows are growing closer to the full-year FY19 target of 15 percent. Year-on-year growth clocked-in at 6 pe

Published 13 Feb, 2019 04:06am

Banking

Make the IMF wait

The PM’s charm could not lure the IMF head Christine Lagarde in Dubai. The negotiations are not conclusive yet. The Fund

Published 12 Feb, 2019 07:40am

Banking

Currency equilibrium – almost there

The pricing adjustment has started unfolding and the picture is not as gloomy as presented by a few corners. The REER ca

Published 04 Feb, 2019 05:59am

Banking

A 25 bps face-saving

The outgoing monetary policy committee salvaged its position by a token increase of 25 bps in the policy decision yester

Published 01 Feb, 2019 06:33am

Banking

Will the diaspora do more?

Is patriotism overrated? The dam fund’s fate would suggest so – as no more than $10 million made their way five months l

Published 31 Jan, 2019 06:18am

Banking

Bank Al Habib strong balance sheet growth

Bank Al Habib Limited (BAHL) has consolidated its balance sheet well enough to be poised to take advantage of ever impro

Published 31 Jan, 2019 06:02am

Banking

MPS - another U-turn?

The monetary policy is due tomorrow. It is hard to predict what route the committee takes, seeing the decision making pa

Updated 30 Jan, 2019 07:10am

Banking

Super tax, tax breaks, and banks

The dust seems to have settled on the implications of the second amendment in the Finance Bill 2018-19. The Finance Mini

Published 30 Jan, 2019 05:45am

Banking

Current account: Curb your enthusiasm

The current account deficit stood at $7.8 billion (2.8% of GDP) in Jul-Dec18, down by a quarter from the previous half –

Updated 21 Jan, 2019 07:19am

Banking

Looming debt trap

The government is fast falling into a domestic debt trap; sooner it is fixed, the better it is. With government by far b

Published 18 Jan, 2019 05:50am

Banking

Pakistan needs a savings wizard

Speaking to the business community in Karachi over the weekend, Finance Minister emphasised on the need to increase the

Published 15 Jan, 2019 06:49am

Banking

Don’t put all the eggs in SBP’s basket

The Finance minister last week indicated to a group of journalists that the ministry is looking for resource from the SB

Published 14 Jan, 2019 06:30am

Banking

Revamping remittances

As critical as they are, the remittances have been sluggish lately. After a weak November, December 2018 figures from th

Published 14 Jan, 2019 06:18am

Banking

Bankers: friends or masters?

Last week, the publication of JIT report on fake accounts inspired an emotive debate on social media. The twitterati won

Published 08 Jan, 2019 06:58am

Banking

Debt pricing – far from ideal

Good intentions mean little when policymakers start taking uninformed decisions or act on advices of experts with little

Published 02 Jan, 2019 05:16am

Banking

Life without Libor

Pakistani authorities are reportedly planning to float ‘Panda’ bonds in the Chinese market. Given that the London Interb

Published 31 Dec, 2018 06:11am

Banking

More supervision required at MoF Debt office

Unexpectedly and shockingly, the government accepted too high bids in recent (26th Dec) fixed PIBs' auction. It was sugg

Published 28 Dec, 2018 06:22am

Banking

Hawala/Hundi: arrests not enough

In recent news, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has made further arrests of those suspected to be involved in haw

Updated 24 Dec, 2018 06:19am

Banking

Debt profiling: don’t repeat 2014 mistakes

The government’s domestic debt profile is increasingly skewed towards short term papers (T-Bills) - creating a rollover

Published 24 Dec, 2018 05:42am

Banking

Current account: Expect more impact later

The tightening measures - currency adjustment and interest rates hike, so far have not yielded any meaningful impact on

Published 21 Dec, 2018 05:40am

Banking

Remittances: green shoots on the horizon?

November 2018 was a bad month for remittance inflows; the month clocked in poor year-on-year growth of only 2 percent. I

Published 21 Dec, 2018 05:37am

Banking

FDI in dire straits

Headlines saying “FDI draught taking hold” won’t be breaking news if foreign direct investment continues to slump. FDI i

Published 20 Dec, 2018 05:47am

Banking

Do more – talk less

Just as ‘all roads lead to Rome’, all financing needs in Pakistan lead to the IMF. It does not matter whether the govern

Published 12 Dec, 2018 06:34am

Banking

The inexplicable trend in remittances

The headlines today read worker remittances sent home are up. And surely they are: about 12.5 percent year-on-year in te

Published 11 Dec, 2018 05:30am

Banking

Learning by doing

In the aftermath of recent (un)timely exchange rate depreciation and monetary policy tightening, a political and public

Published 10 Dec, 2018 05:45am

Banking

How feasible are the new payment security rules

The central bank’s specific guidelines on digital payment security which were issued last week merit a closer look (see

Published 06 Dec, 2018 05:57am

Banking

Dollar diary: Don’t go the Dar way

The exchange and interest rate shocks sent jitters to the investors community on Friday. First half was no different tha

Published 03 Dec, 2018 06:28am

Banking

Promoting fintechs

Fintech is changing how financial activities are conducted around the globe. The use of technology to bring out innovati

Published 03 Dec, 2018 06:23am

Banking

Payment security: buckle up!

Better late than never! It’s been almost a month since news broke of security breach at a local bank’s digital payment s

Published 30 Nov, 2018 05:59am

Banking

Rate hike — how much is needed?

The Monetary policy announcement is on Friday; the market is clearly expecting a 50-100 bps increase in interest rates.

Updated 28 Nov, 2018 06:42am

Banking

The harrowing deficit tale

The first quarter FY19 deficit raised to an alarming level of 1.4 percent of GDP - highest 1Q deficit since FY11, eludin

Published 26 Nov, 2018 06:05am

Banking

BoT – a continuation of trends

The brakes have been applied to the widening current account deficit and as a result, imports have registered zero perce

Published 26 Nov, 2018 05:51am

Banking

Current account shaping up the Egyptian way

The current account deficit dipped by 5 percent to $4.8 billion in 4MFY19 – such small reduction does not mean the curre

Published 19 Nov, 2018 08:38am

Banking

The FDI quagmire

Nothing much has changed in how the foreign direct investment has been behaving. Net FDI inflows nosedived by over 46 pe

Published 16 Nov, 2018 06:43am

Banking

Understanding the remittance growth

Decent growth in remittances of late has lured analysts to connect it to increased vigilance on money laundering, crackd

Published 15 Nov, 2018 06:56am

Banking

Fiscal space in a tight spot, again

Fiscal policy, especially the FBR is going to be in tough spot with reference to ongoing negotiation with the IMF. The F

Published 12 Nov, 2018 07:04am

Banking

Remittance revival!

It’s super exciting to see 38 percent month-on-month growth in remittance flows in October 2018; it’s the highest month-

Updated 12 Nov, 2018 07:12am

Banking

Compromised?

News of security breach in the overseas payment systems of a local bank broke over the weekend. A notification was issue

Published 01 Nov, 2018 06:26am

Banking

HBL: lending more–earning more

Pakistan’s largest commercial bank HBL Bank Limited (HBL) announced its 9MCY18 financial results earlier, posting a mass

Published 01 Nov, 2018 06:22am

Banking

Doing away with the transaction tax

The incumbent finance minister is keen to undo the adverse impact of a few policies run by the previous finance head (Da

Published 30 Oct, 2018 06:07am

Banking

A case for doing without the IMF

Just like there is a political divide in the country - either you are a PMLN supporter or of PTI; there is an economists

Published 26 Oct, 2018 06:40am

Banking

MCB consolidates in 9MCY18

MCB Bank announced its 9MCY18 financial results, accompanied with yet another interim cash dividend of Rs4 per share. Th

Published 26 Oct, 2018 06:18am

Banking

Current account breather

The current account deficit stood at $3.7 billion in 1QFY19 - lowest in five quarters. The question is whether the lower

Published 24 Oct, 2018 06:17am

Banking

Bank Al Habib lends strong

Bank Al Habib Limited (BAHL) posted a 4 percent year-on-year drop in pre-tax profits for 9MCY18. But the real story has

Published 24 Oct, 2018 06:14am

Banking

Dollar desperation

That the US dollar is increasingly becoming a scarce commodity in Pakistan is known to all and sundry by now. The questi

Published 23 Oct, 2018 06:25am

Banking

External financing Plan B

There are no two ways on the fact that Pakistan needs additional$7-8 billion in SBP reserves within a couple of months,

Published 22 Oct, 2018 07:02am

Banking

Weak FDI; weaker outlook

The first quarter of FY19 has spelled bane for foreign direct investments (FDI) in the country. According to central ban

Published 19 Oct, 2018 06:24am

Banking

Remittances in Naya Pakistan

High hopes have been attached to the remittances under the new government with the Premier also asking the overseas Paki

Published 16 Oct, 2018 06:25am

Banking

Which IMF programme?

The funding gap, according to SBP presentation to the PM in the presence of panel of economists, is $10-12 billion this

Updated 11 Oct, 2018 07:34am

Banking

Credit off-take: up but for how long?

In a rather surprising development, credit flow in the first two month of current fiscal year has been positive. About R

Published 05 Oct, 2018 06:50am

Banking

Silver lining in higher oil prices

The uncertainty is testing the temperament of investors, speculators and business persons alike. The supposed lack of po

Published 03 Oct, 2018 06:53am

Banking

MPS decision: half century or a ton?

The monetary policy is due tomorrow; the austerity wave is expected to continue with hawks expected to dominate the mone

Published 28 Sep, 2018 08:44am

Banking

BoT: deceptively promising

Continuing last month’s trend, the 2MFY18 trade numbers posted by PBS appear to have improved. Exports are up, imports h

Published 25 Sep, 2018 06:45am

Banking

Trade deficit breather

After an abnormally high deficit in July18, the current account slippages were a little too low in August. The CAD was

Published 24 Sep, 2018 06:12am

Banking

Remittances and the two Eid’s

Several heads of exchange companies and remittance firms tell BR Research that Pakistanis working and living abroad send

Published 19 Sep, 2018 06:17am

Banking

FDI needs a jolt

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) could do better in Naya Pakistan. As per the latest central bank data, net FDI came in 3

Published 17 Sep, 2018 09:30am

Banking

Dam financing

There has been some criticism of the dam fund set up by the honourable Supreme Court and later the prime minister’s join

Published 13 Sep, 2018 07:39am

Banking

Will remittances show some love?

If social media is anything to go by, the new premier is the darling of Pakistan’s expat community. But love seldom come

Published 12 Sep, 2018 06:47am

Banking

Long road to a cash-lite economy

Even though usage of the digital alternative delivery channels (ADCs) is on the rise, it would, apparently, take long be

Published 30 Aug, 2018 07:07am

Banking

The fiscal royal mess

The PMLN government left the economy on a messy note. The fiscal deficit target has been missed by whopping 2.5 percent

Published 30 Aug, 2018 07:05am

Banking

MCB in 1HCY18

MCB Bank recorded a healthy top-line growth during 1HCY18, but that failed to translate into an equally healthy bottom-l

Published 28 Aug, 2018 07:09am

Banking

Soaring deficit – normalcy to resume

Contrary to expectations, there is no respite to current account deficit - it stood at $2.2 billion in Jul18 which is th

Published 27 Aug, 2018 06:22am

Banking

FDI down; non-Sino FDI worse

What a start to the fiscal year! FDI data for July 2018 shows how Murphy’s Law is played out in real life: gross FDI inf

Published 20 Aug, 2018 07:26am

Banking

Bank Al Habib: strong balance sheet

Bank Al Habib Limited (BAHL) announced its 1HCY18 financial results, posting a 5 percent year-on-year drop in after-tax

Published 17 Aug, 2018 06:12am

Banking

Picking the right lender(s)

With every passing day the ambiguity of entering into a fresh IMF programme increases. The international media coverage

Published 16 Aug, 2018 06:13am

Banking

In search of patriotic capital

Now that change is in the air, will the feel-good factor attract some low-cost patriotic capital? The PTI’s electoral vi

Published 13 Aug, 2018 06:36am

Banking

Allied Bank: sound and strong

Allied Bank Limited (ABLL) ticked all the right boxes in 1HCY18. The bank’s balance continued to expand, with an asset b

Published 13 Aug, 2018 06:32am

Banking

Correcting current account

The immediate need is to bring in foreign exchange in terms of cheap loans (mainly IMF) and issue Diaspora bonds to repl

Published 10 Aug, 2018 06:28am

Banking

Training SMEs to boost exports

What do Pakistan’s SMEs want? Many things! From ease of credit to ease of doing business. But there is something that SM

Updated 01 Sep, 2018 11:08am

Banking

M-wallets: growing volumes

If it is all about the numbers, well, the numbers look great. Mobile wallets, as per the latest statistics on the branch

Published 07 Aug, 2018 05:09am

Banking

UBL is no outlier

Profits are a little harder to come by for the local banking industry these days. Much like other big banks, doom also b

Published 06 Aug, 2018 05:53am

Banking

HBL: profitability marred by investment losses

It seems that the fortunes of the banking sector have a blip in an otherwise rising interest rate economy. And the marke

Published 03 Aug, 2018 06:44am

Banking

Profits dip for MCB

It’s no fun being a bank right now. The consolidated bottom-line at each of the big-three private commercial banks – HBL

Published 03 Aug, 2018 06:34am

Banking

IMF: to go or not to go

Lately, the debate is heating up whether Pakistan should enter into an IMF programme or not. The question is not one-sid

Published 01 Aug, 2018 06:47am

Banking

No way around IMF

The Naya Pakistan has some Naya kind of currency movements. The big fluctuation in the open market without the influence

Published 31 Jul, 2018 06:47am

Banking

Lamenting SMEs

The importance of SMEs cannot be over-emphasized for industrial development. As per SEMDA, they constitute nearly 90 per

Updated 01 Sep, 2018 11:11am

Banking

Record high current deficit

It was a record smashing Friday. The one made in Zimbabwe must be held proudly. The other one evident from the SBP numbe

Published 23 Jul, 2018 07:06am

Banking

Wanted: FDI miracles

That Pakistan missed its FDI goals for five years in a row was flagged in last month’s FDI coverage (See ‘ Missed FDI go

Published 19 Jul, 2018 06:55am

Banking

Dealing with new IMF programme

What are some of the things that the incoming government needs to consider for the IMF programme that Pakistan is expect

Published 18 Jul, 2018 07:22am

Banking

Austerity mode is on

The currency is down again and the policy rate is revised up. Shamshad Akhtar, the caretaker finance minister, is in ful

Published 17 Jul, 2018 06:51am

Banking

Readying for the new IMF programme

Pakistan is no stranger to bust-boom-bust cycles; nor to the IMF. Having been caught in the trough of that cycle for the

Published 17 Jul, 2018 06:49am

Banking

Soaring trade deficit

The trade deficit has moved up by 34 times from $1.1 billion in FY03 to $37.7 billion in FY18, on PBS data. This sums up

Published 13 Jul, 2018 06:11am

Banking

Remittances: cold comfort

Good news: the workers’ remittances, one of Pakistan’s major non-debt-creating forex inflows, didn’t show a yearly decli

Published 12 Jul, 2018 06:52am

Banking

Down but not out

“I have noticed that Pakistanis are emotional. When things don’t go very well, in terms of politics or economy, they get

Updated 27 Jun, 2018 08:11am

Banking

IMF calling: Asad and Miftah listening?

The external imbalances are growing every week. Pakistan should already be in the Fund’s programme. Had Chinese inflow n

Published 26 Jun, 2018 06:59am

Banking

Pakistan’s remittance challenge

Pakistan’s labour exports to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has been weakening March 2016; and, according to the Bure

Published 25 Jun, 2018 06:58am

Banking

Missed FDI goals!

Pakistan’s FDI numbers have not been pretty. And in latest news they are getting even worse. By April 2018, the growth i

Published 22 Jun, 2018 07:42am

Banking

Doomsday scenarios!

It's a domino effect. The economy was operating on the edge anyways; and now things are slipping fast in the wrong direc

Published 22 Jun, 2018 07:36am

Banking

Wanted: dollar bonds

Less than a fortnight before its expiration, the much-talked-about tax amnesty scheme is back in the news. The caretaker

Published 21 Jun, 2018 06:52am

Banking

Twin deficit may alter fiscal system

The core of the macroeconomic problems is fiscal slippage, while the external deficit is primarily an effect. The issue

Published 20 Jun, 2018 06:38am

Banking

Remittances – slow and steady

The fiscal year is coming to a close, and the macroeconomic situation in the country is precarious. Unfortunately, the r

Published 13 Jun, 2018 06:42am

Banking

Rupee ride: round 3!

The pattern is now predictable; the caretakers are taking lead from where it was left by Miftah and Abassi duo. The firs

Published 12 Jun, 2018 06:33am

Banking

Has private credit off-take peaked?

The fiscal year to date has been the best in the last five years so far as private sector off-take is concerned. But sin

Published 11 Jun, 2018 05:58am

Banking

Who will bell the debt cat?

Pakistan economy liberalized in early 2000s when the financial sector was deregulated and trade related tariffs were rat

Published 11 Jun, 2018 05:57am

Banking

Caretaking the economy

Islamabad these days is rife with all sorts of rumours surrounding the General Elections 2018. Those with heightened dem

Published 07 Jun, 2018 05:45am

Banking

Is China replacing the IMF?

Seeing the gross funding gap ; it is clear that Pakistan needs a bailout. Perhaps, someone is already bailing the count

Published 29 May, 2018 06:52am

Banking

Economic mess asking for rate hike

The PMLN government is about to leave an macroeconomic mess to handle for caretakers; and the new government might be bu

Updated 24 May, 2018 08:35am

Banking

Deficit overdose

The Murphy’s Law says, ‘if anything can go wont, it will’. That seems to be applying on Pakistan economy; as the numbers

Updated 21 May, 2018 07:42am

Banking

Poor FDI; poorer transparency

At less than one percent of the GDP, the 2.4 percent year-on-year increase in net foreign direct investments (FDI) in 10

Published 17 May, 2018 07:16am

Banking

No debt; no life!

The sharp increase in external debt is no surprise and it isn’t catching headlines as either the debt story is known to

Published 17 May, 2018 07:13am

Banking

Remittances remain on steady course

There is no drastic change in the picture for home remittances; the story remains the same where the country continues t

Published 14 May, 2018 06:41am

Banking

Floating PIBs

Five years ago, government’s domestic maturity profile was too low as short-term floating debts were at Rs5.3 trillion o

Updated 12 May, 2018 08:41am

Banking

External balance snap shot

The SBP reserves are up by $593 million in the week ending April 27, 2018. Does this snapshot deserve a wow? The short a

Published 07 May, 2018 06:06am

Banking

Financial inclusion: up in the air?

The latest edition of the World Bank’s global Findex report is making the rounds these days. (For BR Research’s take on

Published 26 Apr, 2018 06:09am

Banking

Bank Al Habib 1QCY18

Bank Al Habib Limited (BAHL) announced its 1QCY18 financial results last week, showing a 9 percent year-on-year drop in

Published 23 Apr, 2018 05:43am

Banking

Current Account: growth in deficit

The current account deficit stood at $12 billion (5.0% of GDP) in 9MFY18; up by 51 percent year-on-year. On quarterly ba

Published 23 Apr, 2018 05:42am

Banking

FDI: change but no change

Each passing month has been strengthening the ongoing trend of Sino-isation of Pakistan’s FDI. The latest tick – for Mar

Published 19 Apr, 2018 05:44am

Banking

Builders and Bakers eyeing Banks

That a number of banks in Pakistan have been looking for buyers has been one of the worst kept secrets. That, the number

Published 18 Apr, 2018 06:27am

Banking

Where are remittances headed?

State Bank of Pakistan in its recent quarterly report has projected that the country would attract a maximum of $20.5 bi

Published 12 Apr, 2018 05:51am

Banking

Dollar bonds: race against time

PM Abbasi looked in a hurry last week unveiling tax amnesty. Short of time, the premier may best be remembered for his i

Published 10 Apr, 2018 05:38am

Banking

Forex: what might have been!

Pakistan’s dollar reserves have been extraordinarily strained this fiscal. At work is a ballooning current account defic

Published 05 Apr, 2018 05:38am

Banking

FDIs: diversification calling (ii)

Yesterday’s piece on FDI in Pakistan showed that unlike the Chinese players, who are mostly concentrating on power and c

Published 29 Mar, 2018 05:13am

Banking

MPS: another raise?

The monetary policy is due on Friday; the question is after 25 bps policy rate increase in Jan18 to 6 percent, what the

Published 29 Mar, 2018 05:11am

Banking

FDIs: diversification calling

Last week, the Chairman of Pakistan’s Board of Investment, Naeem Zamindar, was reported to have said that “Pakistan want

Published 28 Mar, 2018 06:04am

Banking

Knocking on IMF’s door – when?

There is no doubt that Pakistan is going back to IMF within this calendar year. The question is on the timings of enteri

Published 27 Mar, 2018 05:33am

Banking

Current account breather

The current account deficit tamed to $1.2 billion In February; down 25 percent month-on-month. The Jul-Feb number stood

Published 22 Mar, 2018 06:20am

Banking

HBL — healthy balance sheet growth

Pakistan's largest commercial bank announced its full year results for 2017, accompanied with a final cash dividend of r

Published 21 Mar, 2018 05:47am

Banking

Living on the edge

The IMF report is a mixed bag - it narrates the short to medium term challenges owing to growing twin deficits while in

Published 20 Mar, 2018 06:25am

Banking

Sino-isation of Pakistan’s FDI

Ten years ago, China’s share in Pakistan’s annual inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) was almost negligible. Today

Published 19 Mar, 2018 06:41am

Banking

Fiscal deficit: think out of the box

In the short to medium run, external imbalance is the biggest macroeconomic challenge the economy is facing, and all the

Updated 16 Mar, 2018 06:26am

Banking

A case to boost reinvested earnings!

If it wasn’t already a matter of concern that net FDI inflows were down 3 percent in the seven months ending January 201

Published 14 Mar, 2018 05:23am

Banking

Saudi remittances blow

Worker remittances from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) have been on a decline. It fell eight and a half percent in th

Published 13 Mar, 2018 05:34am

Banking

Feb checks remittances breather

If January 2018 saw a much-needed respite in the slowing pace of remittance growth, the latest tick has brought some of

Published 12 Mar, 2018 07:10am

Banking

IMF’s carrot; stick may follow

The IMF’s first post programme monitoring was finally conducted earlier this week, and a press release was issued in the

Published 09 Mar, 2018 06:50am

Banking

Reserves and reservations

The struggle to keep foreign reserves intact is getting difficult day by day. After a fall of $358 million in third week

Published 08 Mar, 2018 06:27am

Banking

The Chinese debt

There is no surprise in the fact that China is the biggest lender to Pakistan, including both public and private debt. T

Updated 09 Mar, 2018 08:30am

Banking

The slide in SME finance

The efforts to boost SME finance are clearly not yielding results. Analysis of central bank data reveals that loans to S

Published 05 Mar, 2018 06:38am

Banking

Pakistan’s ‘Nagori’ problem

Few could deny noticing ‘Nagori’ milk shops scattered across big and small cities of this country; the billboards of mos

Published 28 Feb, 2018 06:19am

Banking

Allied Bank in CY17

Allied Bank Limited (ABL) saw its bottom line tank year-on-year in CY17. That was not a surprise. Recall that earning sp

Published 23 Feb, 2018 07:50am

Banking

The tale of twin deficit

The current account deficit stood at $1.6 billion in Jan - third highest ever in the history of the country. No wonder t

Updated 22 Feb, 2018 08:11am

Banking

UBL expands asset base

UBL continued with its rich dividend payout, doling out another Rs4/share in final cash dividend, taking the full year C

Published 21 Feb, 2018 06:07am

Banking

M-wallets: dormant much

Apparently, there is no stopping the surge of mobile accounts in Pakistan. As per the latest statistics on the branchles

Published 20 Feb, 2018 06:42am

Banking

Living off the debt

The external scorecard is getting red with every passing quarter; and now the weekly numbers are becoming crucial. The r

Published 20 Feb, 2018 06:37am

Banking

FDI key in breaking the export curse

Sounds good but equally hard as the FDI coming into the country is not only short but also very specific in terms of sec

Published 19 Feb, 2018 04:29am

Banking

Bank AL Habib posts solid results

Bank AL Habib Limited (BAHL) posted its full year CY17 financial results yesterday, posting a decent growth in bottom li

Published 15 Feb, 2018 06:25am

Banking

Remittances: how long will breather last

By September 2017, remittance hearts were sinking. By January 2018, there has been some respite, a much-needed one. But

Published 14 Feb, 2018 06:14am

Banking

Is the IMF’s knock coming?

The economic authorities are burning the ammunition fast to not let the reserves fall in an effort to prolong macroecono

Updated 07 Mar, 2018 07:30am

Banking

Consumer confidence drops further

Amid rising per capita income and controlled inflation, isn’t it a bit odd that consumer confidence in Pakistan has been

Updated 02 Feb, 2018 08:14am

Banking

Is credit off-take tapering off?

Until October 2017, private sector credit was only going to the textile sector (figuratively speaking). Two months onwar

Published 01 Feb, 2018 05:48am

Banking

Reaping fruits of currency adjustment

The tightening cycle has already started without jacking up the interest rates. The rupee depreciated by 5 percent again

Updated 27 Jan, 2018 08:52am

Banking

The anatomy of SME finance

Is SME finance beginning to take off in Pakistan? Consider this: net outstanding credit in the country rose by Rs110 bil

Published 22 Jan, 2018 05:20am

Banking

BoP: where is the LNG?

The current account deficit stood at $7.4 billion (4.4% of GDP) in 1HFY18; up by 59 percent year-on-year. The growing CA

Updated 23 Jan, 2018 05:19am

Banking

FDI in 1HFY18

Foreign direct investment for the first six months of FY18 stands at $1,381.7 million, down by around 3 percent year-on-

Published 18 Jan, 2018 09:56am

Banking

SME clinics

Yesterday’s piece on SME flagged the need for better understanding of demand side of SME finance – especially from motiv

Published 17 Jan, 2018 06:11am

Banking

SME finance: getting the basics right

Pakistan needs to grow SME finance. That is the oft cited mantra at various public and private forums where they discuss

Published 16 Jan, 2018 06:49am

Banking

Good signs for remittances

The slowdown in home remittances has been flagged as a concern too many times for a country that depends on these inflow

Updated 16 Jan, 2018 07:08am

Banking

To-do list for ADB Pakistan

The ADB Pakistan office has lately been touring provincial capitals in the country to seek ideas on how it can support e

Published 12 Jan, 2018 06:30am

Banking

Currency turbulence in session

The currency movement is the talk of the town! The rupee dollar parity fluctuated recently in the open market is jolting

Published 11 Jan, 2018 07:26am

Banking

The new dollar?

This year is dawned with the possibility of use of Yuan for denominating foreign currency transactions in Pakistan. The

Published 04 Jan, 2018 06:30am

Banking

Stagnating deposits growth?

The money supply growth is shrinking this fiscal year so far whilst the lion’s share of the tiny increase is taken by cu

Updated 29 Dec, 2017 11:35am

Banking

CAD: high time to curtail imports

There is no respite to current account deficit. It stood at $1.4 billion in Nov-2017 to make the Jul-Nov deficit touch $

Published 22 Dec, 2017 08:04am

Banking

Chinese FDI rise offsets fall in non-Sino inflows

The story of foreign direct investments (FDI) in Pakistan in November 2017 is little changed from what happened in first

Published 19 Dec, 2017 07:32am

Banking

Banking sector in good health

Banks are making lesser profits than they were last year. Yet, they are healthier than last year. The balance sheets hav

Published 15 Dec, 2017 08:25am

Banking

Impact of currency depreciation

The currency has finally started heading south. It depreciated by around 5 percent in the last few trading days. The noi

Updated 21 Dec, 2017 08:47am

Banking

Questions loom over remittance growth

Remittances sent home by overseas Pakistanis grew 1.3 percent in the five months of current fiscal year. But the growth

Published 12 Dec, 2017 07:43am

Banking

Call for deregulation of exchange rate

The cat is coming out of the bag. The currency fluctuated considerably in the intraday for the second time this fiscal y

Published 11 Dec, 2017 07:48am

Banking

SME financing and absent data!

Dearth of reliable, readily available, and comprehensive data has been a lifelong shortcoming of government institutions

Published 08 Dec, 2017 07:47am

Banking

After bonds, what’s next?

It’s as if Dar’s exit was welcomed by international debt market. Just days after the finance czar’s ouster, the country

Published 04 Dec, 2017 10:32am

Banking

MPS: status quo likely

Status quo is our best friend. All the ten market participants BR Research spoke to regarding the monetary policy due to

Updated 23 Nov, 2017 02:19pm

Banking

Bonds: getting the price right

To ease the forex mind, Pakistan is looking to access global capital markets for fourth successive year. Reportedly betw

Updated 23 Nov, 2017 06:11am

Banking

In deficits we trust

The current account deficit keeps on growing; up by 122 percent to $5.0 billion (4.4% of GDP) in Jul-Oct17. Of course, t

Updated 22 Nov, 2017 02:56pm

Banking

The State Bank needs a better model

The monetary policy committee minutes are released and surprisingly, seeing the external vulnerabilities which were at p

Updated 22 Nov, 2017 05:37am

Banking

All about China, power and construction

The FDI to Pakistan in October 2017 surged by 141 percent year-on-year. It comes on the back of 163 and 148 percent year

Published 17 Nov, 2017 07:07am

Banking

Remittances: GCC remains the concern

Growth in remittances - a lifeline for country’s forex reserves – has been losing steam off late. The latest SBP numbers

Updated 13 Nov, 2017 10:10am

Banking

Currency: Let it not be a steep fall

The currency weakening rumours strengthen with Dar’s weakening political health. Few months back when Dar was too busy h

Updated 07 Nov, 2017 03:40pm

Banking

Big banks consolidate profits

Banks were supposed to have it tough for much of CY17. And they have had it that way. Interest rates were down significa

Published 02 Nov, 2017 06:55am

Banking

Is HBL saga behind Sep remittance drop?

Earlier this month, BR Research highlighted how remittances inflow dropped by a third on month-on-month basis due to wha

Updated 02 Nov, 2017 08:03am

Banking

MCB prospers post merger

Times promise to be good for banks. Big ones especially, MCB’s 9MCY17 results showed just high. In times of squeezed spr

Updated 30 Oct, 2017 10:59am

Banking

Bonds calling

The global capital markets are fluid whilst the need of raising foreign debt at home is paramount. That is why, the deci

Updated 27 Oct, 2017 09:10am

Banking

Bank Al Habib impresses

Bank Al Habib Limited (BAHL) is doing just fine, even in these times of thin spreads, low interest rates and muted depos

Updated 26 Oct, 2017 08:34am

Banking

ABL sheds profits, consolidates balance sheet

Allied Bank Limited saw its bottom-line tank year-on-year in 9MCY17. That should not come as a surprise, given how the i

Updated 25 Oct, 2017 07:29am

Banking

HBL profits - humbled by penalty

HBL reported a flat topline growth in 9MCY17. That is a decent effort for most banks in times of falling interest rates

Published 23 Oct, 2017 07:11am

Banking

Deficit woes continue

The current account woes are not going anywhere despite efforts by the government to enhance exports and curb imports. T

Updated 23 Oct, 2017 11:11am

Banking

UBL banks on investments

UBL's has kept up with the dividend stream as it announced another Rs3/share interim cash dividend, with its financial r

Updated 20 Oct, 2017 10:10am

Banking

FDI growth, but…..

Foreign direct investments rose 56 percent in the quarter ending September 2017. Sooner than later you can expect the tr

Updated 20 Oct, 2017 07:35am

Banking

WHT-isation in light of new evidence

The central bank’s latest State of Economy report finally brings home a point that this column has been writing about in

Published 17 Oct, 2017 07:19am

Banking

SBP on external woes

The annual report of SBP is a comprehensive document narrating the ground realities of the economy with a few boxes summ

Published 16 Oct, 2017 08:05am

Banking

Exchange rate argument

The exchange rate debate is brewing up in print media, amongst seasoned economists and past policymakers. Some call for

Updated 13 Oct, 2017 11:16am

Banking

Is remittance growth back to normalcy?

Remittances for the first quarter FY18 stood at $4.79 billion, up barely 1 percent over last year, dashing hopes of thos

Updated 12 Oct, 2017 12:14pm

Banking

Growth spurt for mobile wallets

The FY17 was a great year for mobile wallets in Pakistan. As per the latest statistics on the branchless banking (BB) se

Published 10 Oct, 2017 06:37am

Banking

Growth continues for microfinance

Just as CY16, this year is also turning out to be a good year for the country’s microfinance sector. There is double-dig

Updated 29 Sep, 2017 07:13am

Banking

MPS: status quo must go

The monetary policy is due today. Solely looking at inflation, the decision could be in favour of status quo. Few member

Updated 29 Sep, 2017 11:37am

Banking

Eid spending patterns

You probably have had enough red meat from Eid ul Azha, celebrated a few weeks ago. It’s time to digest and dig some spe

Published 26 Sep, 2017 05:49am

Banking

CAD - Time for tough decisions

August turns out to be a breather against otherwise fast growing current account deficit; after four consecutive months

Updated 21 Sep, 2017 11:17am

Banking

FDI builds momentum

The FDI to Pakistan in August 2017 inched up by 148 percent year-on-year. It had gone up by 162.8 percent last month. If

Published 19 Sep, 2017 06:21am

Banking

The interest rate conundrum

The twin deficit is growing and so is the component of external financing. The fall of reserves has been tapered off as

Published 14 Sep, 2017 06:29am

Banking

Reading remittance spike

Finally, some good news on the macro front! Remittances sent home by overseas Pakistanis rose a decent 13 percent in the

Published 13 Sep, 2017 06:15am

Banking

Big banks consolidate profits

Banks were supposed to have it tough for much of first half of CY17. And there were reasons to believe as the interest r

Published 07 Sep, 2017 06:47am

Banking

Profit repatriation

The first month of FY18 was good for FDI, having more than doubled year-on-year, thanks largely to the nearly $90 millio

Updated 07 Sep, 2017 11:31am

Banking

SME financing: superficial growth

The SBP’s SME Finance review that comes out every quarter has seen its ups and downs—some quarters offering extensive da

Published 30 Aug, 2017 05:17am

Banking

Strong profits at Bank Alfalah

Bank Alfalah Limited (BAFL) announced its first half 2017 financial results last week, and the profit and loss statement

Published 22 Aug, 2017 05:09am

Banking

ABL sees healthy balance sheet growth

Allied Bank Limited’s top line and bottom line slid by 6 and 24 percent respectively, year-on-year. That is not how a ba

Published 18 Aug, 2017 06:25am

Banking

HBL consolidates profits

HBL is in pretty good shape. Pakistan’s largest commercial bank announced its first half CY17 financial results yesterda

Published 15 Aug, 2017 06:52am

Banking

Falling currency confidence

The confidence on currency stabilization is deteriorating. Looking at the trend of foreign exchange for the last two mon

Updated 09 Aug, 2017 06:37am

Banking

Think of a Zebra

Did Pakistan’s financial sector reforms introduce in early 1990s fall short of their objective? Was there a problem in t

Updated 07 Aug, 2017 10:26am

Banking

Investments up at UBL

UBL announced its 1HCY17 financial results yesterday, and kept up with the dividend stream, announcing Rs3/share as inte

Published 28 Jul, 2017 05:34am

Banking

Banking for the masses

Pakistani banks need to do more. A comparison between Pakistan and its neighbouring economy India vis-à-vis retail banki

Published 26 Jul, 2017 04:09am

Banking

Soaring deficit: Rethink now

The current account deficit has been recorded at an unexpected 4 percent of GDP ($12.1bn) in FY17. The number is even hi

Updated 21 Jul, 2017 08:06am

Banking

Of revenue mobilization

Tax revenues are an important part when it comes to achieving fiscal stability. Over the years Pakistan has faced a

Published 20 Jul, 2017 05:42am

Banking

FDI sees modest growth

The SBP has released FDI statistics for June 2017, and net FDI for FY17 grew by a not-so-encouraging 4.58 percent ye

Updated 18 Jul, 2017 07:30am

Banking

Remittances FY17

And so it happened. Annual remittances to the country for FY17 took a first plunge in 13 years. The yearly figure fo

Updated 12 Jul, 2017 04:44am

Banking

SBP Governor: Huge task ahead

The dust has settled. Tariq Bajwa is the SBP Governor for three years, and the currency market is back to a managed

Updated 10 Jul, 2017 11:41am

Banking

Currency: ego wins over rationale

The mysterious story of 3 percent single day depreciation of currency unfolded yesterday. Kudos to the SBP acting Go

Published 07 Jul, 2017 04:43am

Banking

Banking sector increases depth

The banking sector is in good health. The profits may well have dipped on account of low interest rates, but the ove

Updated 06 Jul, 2017 11:54am

Banking

Rupee’s moment of truth?

The moment Maryam Nawaz entered the JIT investigation room, rupee fell 3 percent against the greenback. And the inev

Updated 06 Jul, 2017 11:45am

Banking

Private credit: a far cry from a boom!

We already discussed in this column that there is an up tick in bank lending to the private sector, with a healthy b

Updated 06 Jul, 2017 11:58am

Banking

M-wallets gain dominance

A pivotal moment happened earlier this year. And it took place in the branchless banking (BB) segment. As per the la

Published 05 Jul, 2017 05:07am

Banking

SBP’s thoughts on weak exports

That Pakistan needs to find new products and markets to export aren’t exactly an epiphanic policy advice. The advice

Published 04 Jul, 2017 03:04am

Banking

Beware of the twin deficits

In matters economic, one good year isn’t necessarily followed by a better year. The story of 5.3 percent GDP growth

Published 04 Jul, 2017 03:02am

Banking

Inflation in check; currency needs a check

Surprisingly, food prices went down by 0.2 percent month-on-month in Ramadan which is both counterintuitive and agai

Published 04 Jul, 2017 03:01am

Banking

Corporate credit: Energy leads the way

Banks are lending again. Not that they had stopped lending, but at their service was a hungry government with a never en

Published 03 Jul, 2017 04:45am

Banking

External loan fueled growth

The SBP’s nine month report reflects virtually all the good things happening with the economy. The not-so-good ones, tho

Updated 03 Jul, 2017 11:43am

Banking

SME financing: mountain or a molehill?

The latest SME financing review published by the SBP (for CY16) shows improvement on several fronts. There is an inc

Published 30 Jun, 2017 06:14am

Banking

Chinese OFDI

Chinese FDI inflow in Pakistan is on the rise. But the Asian dragon’s outward investment elsewhere in the world had

Updated 01 Jul, 2017 02:59pm

Banking

FDI: getting better

It's nowhere close to the high seen in 2007-08, but the net FDI tally may finally be turning a corner after struggli

Published 23 Jun, 2017 04:41am

Banking

Current account is bleeding

Current account has posted a deficit of $1.6 billion in May 2017 alone which is almost half of the full FY16 deficit

Published 23 Jun, 2017 04:39am

Banking

When will the rupee depreciate?

Chances of the currency falling during this government’s tenure are same as that of Pakistan winning against India i

Published 15 Jun, 2017 04:56am

Banking

What’s behind the surge in May remittances?

The whopping unexpected increase in worker remittances in May 2017 suggests that the full-year inflow may well land

Updated 12 Jun, 2017 06:11am

Banking

Qatari remittance

A grave diplomatic crisis brews in the Middle East. And it’s not without implications on the economy. Reports are al

Published 09 Jun, 2017 04:09am

Banking

"SMEs: Walk the talk"

Last budget, the Export Refinance Facility (ERF) brought the mark-up rate down to 3 percent (in several steps from 8

Updated 29 May, 2017 07:08am

Banking

Current account is bleeding

The current account slippage continued in April as the deficit posted at $1.1 billion in Apr17 (Mar17:$546mn) and th

Published 18 May, 2017 05:09am

Banking

FDI: Not all about China yet

Granted that net FDI is up about 13 percent in the fiscal year to-date, but the quality of that number isn't exactly

Updated 17 May, 2017 04:52am

Banking

PIB aims to fill infrastructure gap

Widening infrastructure gap in the region’s fastest-growing population has swayed the economy from attaining its pot

Published 15 May, 2017 05:00am

Banking

Remittances: brace for the fall

“Every time I seem to fall in love. Crash! Boom! Bang!” Time and again, this 90s lyric have been found well-suited t

Updated 12 May, 2017 05:55am

Banking

M-wallets: doing good

Twenty million mobile wallets – that’s some achievement! As per the latest quarterly newsletter by the State Bank of

Published 10 May, 2017 03:01am

Banking

MCB, ABL and Bank Al-Falah in 1QCY17

Recent quarters were not great for core banking earnings. Low interest rates have depressed returns on assets, while the

Updated 27 Apr, 2017 07:51am

Banking

HBL consolidates profits

Yesterday was about results. There was one announced by Pakistanâ€™s largest commercial bank HBL too. And it went all we

Published 21 Apr, 2017 04:17am

Banking

Current account: Deficit continues

The current account slippage continued in March; but the pace of bleeding has somewhat receded. Exports and remittances

Published 21 Apr, 2017 04:14am

Banking

UBL maintains profits

UBL announced its 1QCY17 financial results yesterday, doling out Rs3/share as first interim dividend. The top line grew

Updated 20 Apr, 2017 06:24am

Banking

FDI: New approach needed

The story of nine-month FDI inflows is not very different from that in the preceding eight months. On a net basis, the F

Published 19 Apr, 2017 05:00am

Banking

Monetary profile

Monetary aggregates seem to be shaping better, indicating pick up in formal credit and deposits. Growth of informali

Updated 17 Apr, 2017 05:13am

Banking

Dinosaurs of the digital age

Various species of dinosaurs still walk the earth today. One of those is the traditional commercial banks. That was

Published 17 Apr, 2017 04:30am

Banking

The large ambiguity in home remittances

Home remittances have been plugging the trade deficit for past decade or so. They have proved to be the only silver

Updated 13 Apr, 2017 07:53am

Banking

Remittances: looking for a fresh start

That remittance inflows in Pakistan are not growing at a comforting pace is pretty much well established by now. The

Updated 12 Apr, 2017 05:28am

Banking

Microfinance on the rise

Microfinance in Pakistan had a good run last year. Latest numbers released by the sectorâ€™s association, the Pakistan M

Published 06 Apr, 2017 05:37am

Banking

On sovereign bond yields

The latest SBP quarterly report mentions that the PML-N government had issued sovereign bonds totaling $4.5 billion so f

Published 04 Apr, 2017 05:31am

Banking

Bank of Punjab impresses

Being state-owned comes with the ills of being state-owned. The Bank of Punjab (BoPb) had the misfortune of carrying

Published 31 Mar, 2017 06:24am

Banking

Debt piling reserves

In continuation to 'external scorecard in red' published on August 30, 2016, latest snapshot is presented here.

Published 20 Mar, 2017 05:57am

Banking

Is eight-months FDI really up?

Business headlines in Pakistan today would likely read that FDI inflow in the country in the first eight months of current fiscal year was up 6 percent year-on-year.

Published 17 Mar, 2017 06:01am

Banking

BankIslami takes good strides

Despite a tough acquisition of the defunct KASB Bank, BankIslami Pakistan Limited (BIPL) seems to be on the right track, as evident by CY16 financial results.

Published 15 Mar, 2017 05:41am

Banking

Move beyond remittances?

Once a saving grace, remittances have been under pressure since quite a while now; the foreign inflows from expats abroad have trotted down by 2.

Published 14 Mar, 2017 05:06am

Banking

Big banks keep growing

Banks were supposed to have it tough in CY16, as the interest rates were sitting at record lows and yields on assets had declined significantly.

Published 10 Mar, 2017 06:32am

Banking

The rise of Islamic house finance

Islamic house financing is gaining strength.

Published 10 Mar, 2017 06:32am

Banking

PSDP spending: Gathering pace

As the final months of this fiscal approach, the Rs800 billion public sector development programme (PSDP) has picked up spending momentum.

Published 08 Mar, 2017 06:17am

Banking

Provisioning takes the toll on Summit

Summit Bank Limited (Summit) had a decent outing in CY16, when it comes to balance sheet growth.

Published 08 Mar, 2017 06:17am

Banking

Sindh Bank marches on

Banks have had a pretty good CY16 result season, and Sindh Bank Limited (SBL) was the latest to join.

Published 07 Mar, 2017 05:59am

Banking

Islamic banking: beyond congratulations

In an exercise of self congratulations last week, representatives from the SBP highlighted how Islamic banking has boomed in Pakistan in the last fifteen odd years.

Published 06 Mar, 2017 05:50am

Banking

SILKBANK takes huge strides

SilkBank Limited (SBL) posted its financial results for CY16, and it made a strong comeback.

Published 02 Mar, 2017 05:53am

Banking

Talk about financial inclusion

It is early to say whether the donor-led, government-sanctioned, and private-sector-supported financial inclusion mantra will do any good to the lives of those locked out of the financial system.

Published 01 Mar, 2017 06:47am

Banking

Banks: Window dressing

Window dressing is a usual practice that bankers adopt in days close to year end to make books healthier. In days of ris

Updated 29 Dec, 2017 11:55am

Banking

SME financing: Long road ahead

It is now a well-known fact that access to financing is one of the biggest hurdles being faced by SMEs in their quest to

Updated 29 Dec, 2017 11:56am

Currency	Rate
USD PKR Interbank Selling / Nov 21	278.16
USD PKR Interbank Buying / Nov 21	277.96
USD to Japanese Yen / Nov 21	154.53
USD to Swiss Franc / Nov 21	0.89
Pound Sterling to USD / Nov 21	1.26
Euro to USD / Nov 21	1.05

Stock	Volume
S&P 500 / Nov 21	5,948.71
India Sensex / Nov 21	77,155.79
Tokyo Nikkei / Nov 21	38,026.17
Nasdaq / Nov 21	18,972.42
Hang Seng / Nov 21	19,601.11
FTSE 100 / Nov 21	8,149.27
Dow Jones / Nov 21	43,870.35
Germany DAX 30 / Nov 21	19,146.17

Item	Value
Crude Oil USD/Barrel / Nov 21	70.18
Karachi Cotton PKR/37.32 KG / Nov 21	17,785
Gold 10 Grams PKR / Nov 21	238,340
Gold Spot USD/Ounce / Nov 21	2,669.46
Cotton US¢/pound / Nov 21	70.43
Petrol/Litre / Nov 22	248.38

Stock	Price
786 Invest Ltd / Nov 22 786 Investments Limited(786)	7.15 ▼ 0.00 (0.00%)
AL-Abbas Sugar / Nov 22 Al-Abbas Sugar Mills Limited(AABS)	620.68 ▼ 0.00 (0.00%)
Agro Allianz / Nov 22 Agro Allianz Limited(AAL)	16 ▼ 0.00 (0.00%)
AL-Abid Silk / Nov 22 Al-Abid Silk Mills Limited(AASM)	3.49 ▼ 0.00 (0.00%)
Ali Asghar / Nov 22 Ali Asghar Textile Mills Limited(AATM)	69.40 ▼ 0.00 (0.00%)
Allied Bank / Nov 22 Allied Bank Limited(ABL)	115 ▼ 0.00 (0.00%)
Abbott Lab. / Nov 22 Abbott Laboratories (Pakistan) Limited(ABOT)	1,084.82 ▼ 0.00 (0.00%)
Abson Ind. / Nov 22 Abson Industries Limited(ABSON)	2.50 ▼ 0.00 (0.00%)
Alfalah ETF. / Nov 22 Alfalah Consumer Index ETF.(ACIETF)	12.35 ▼ 0.00 (0.00%)

Stock	Price
786 Invest Ltd / Nov 22 786 Investments Limited(786)	7.15 ▲ 0.00 (0.00%)
AL-Abbas Sugar / Nov 22 Al-Abbas Sugar Mills Limited(AABS)	620.68 ▲ 0.00 (0.00%)
Agro Allianz / Nov 22 Agro Allianz Limited(AAL)	16 ▲ 0.00 (0.00%)
AL-Abid Silk / Nov 22 Al-Abid Silk Mills Limited(AASM)	3.49 ▲ 0.00 (0.00%)
Ali Asghar / Nov 22 Ali Asghar Textile Mills Limited(AATM)	69.40 ▲ 0.00 (0.00%)
Allied Bank / Nov 22 Allied Bank Limited(ABL)	115 ▲ 0.00 (0.00%)
Abbott Lab. / Nov 22 Abbott Laboratories (Pakistan) Limited(ABOT)	1,084.82 ▲ 0.00 (0.00%)
Abson Ind. / Nov 22 Abson Industries Limited(ABSON)	2.50 ▲ 0.00 (0.00%)
Alfalah ETF. / Nov 22 Alfalah Consumer Index ETF.(ACIETF)	12.35 ▲ 0.00 (0.00%)

Stock	Volume
WorldCall Telecom / Nov 22 Worldcall Telecom Limited(WTL)	95,563,962 ▲ 0.00
Pace (Pak) Ltd. / Nov 22 Pace (Pakistan) Limited(PACE)	51,499,190 ▲ 0.00
Kohinoor Spining / Nov 22 Kohinoor Spinning Mills Limited(KOSM)	48,260,119 ▲ 0.00
K-Electric Ltd. / Nov 22 K-Electric Limited(KEL)	44,585,332 ▲ 0.00
Treet Battery / Nov 22 Treet Battery Limited(TBL)	42,849,466 ▲ 0.00
Waves Home Appliances / Nov 22 Waves Home Appliances Limited(WAVESAPP)	41,650,133 ▲ 0.00
PIA Holding Co.Ltd / Nov 22 PIA Holding Company Limited(PIAHCLA)	33,841,692 ▲ 0.00
Fauji Foods Ltd / Nov 22 Fauji Foods Limited(FFL)	25,303,681 ▲ 0.00
Cnergyico PK / Nov 22 Cnergyico PK Limited(CNERGY)	25,120,112 ▲ 0.00