Karachi: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday revealed that commercial banks had approved financing worth PKR 125.9 billion for 2,068 businesses as of July 10; under the central bank’s ‘Refinance Scheme to Support Employment and Prevent Layoff of Workers’ — a news source reported.
According to the details available, banks around the country received a large number of applications after the scheme had been announced earlier in March, following the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. However, the pace of approvals had remained low during the initial phase.
By the end of April, only 18% of the loans had been approved. However, due to the efforts of the central bank and the commercial banks themselves, the process has been streamlined. So much so that as of July 10, nearly 76% of the loans have been approved.
In addition, the banks have also approved improved amounts of loans as compared to the originally requested amounts. The acceptance ration of the amount of financing has increased from 26% at the end of April, to 82% by July 10.
