Connect with us

Business

Four Pakistani banks fined over Rs83m for violating laws

Published

1 year ago

on

  • Banks told to enhance their systems, controls.
  • UBL received the largest fine of Rs26.500m.
  • Probe was conducted into currency manipulations.

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fined United Bank Limited (UBL), The Bank of Punjab (BoP), JS Bank Limited (JSBL) and Allied Bank Limited (ABL) for violating banking laws.

These four financial institutions were fined a total of Rs83.157 million in the first quarter (July-September) of the current fiscal year for violating the central bank’s directives regarding foreign exchange, customer due diligence and general banking operations.

According to the details of the significant enforcement action that the SBP posted on its website on Tuesday, UBL received the largest fine, amounting to Rs26.500 million, followed by BoP (Rs21.569 million), JS Bank (Rs18.510 million) and ABL (Rs16.578 million).

The banks were penalised for breaking rules pertaining to know your customer and customer due diligence, foreign exchange trading and general banking activities.

In addition to penal action, these banks have been advised by the SBP to strengthen their systems and controls to prevent future regulatory infractions.

The penal actions are based on deficiencies in the compliance of regulatory instructions and do not constitute a comment on the financial soundness of these banks, according to the SBP.

Last year, the government launched investigations into banks that it claimed were manipulating currencies to increase their gains and profits.

However, neither the findings of the report nor the penalty or fiscal action taken against the banks were made public.

Short forex liquidity, short net open forex positions held by the banks and greater currency volatility and uncertainty were cited as the main reasons why the banks’ spreads were higher.

Despite the economic troubles that the country faced in 2022, the banking industry remained resilient which witnessed a strong growth of 19.1% in its assets.

This expansion was mainly driven by investments while advances decelerated, said the SBP’s annual flagship publication, the Financial Stability Review for 2022.

The contained delinquencies and higher profitability supported banks’ solvency as the capital adequacy ratio stood at 17.0% – well above the minimum regulatory requirement of 11.5%.

The Islamic banking segment also observed robust growth of 29.6% during 2022.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Business

Issues Affecting Pakistan’s Textile Mills Industry: The Government Is Determined To Address Textile Industry Concerns: FM

Published

3 days ago

on

By

Muhammad Aurangzeb, minister of finance, has stated that the government is firmly committed to helping the textile industry in every way possible.
He made this pledge today in Islamabad during a meeting with the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association’s leadership.
In order to guarantee the long-term sustainability and future expansion of Pakistan’s industrial sector, the Minister also reaffirmed the government’s commitment to addressing important tax, energy, and funding challenges.
He welcomed the APTMA office-bearers and gave the delegation his word that the government is committed to resolving the issues facing the textile industry since it understands how important it is to Pakistan’s economy.
Muhammad Aurangzeb underlined that resolving the fundamental issues facing the sector is essential to establishing an atmosphere that is favorable for industrial expansion, promoting economic stability, and bolstering the country’s overall growth trajectory.

Continue Reading

Business

As the MPC meeting draws closer, stocks rise.

Published

3 days ago

on

By

On the final working day of trading, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) maintained its optimistic trend.

After rising more than 900 points, the benchmark KSE-100 index stabilized around 114,684 points.

The forthcoming Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on March 10 is allegedly connected to the bullish trend.

Recall that the KSE-100 index gained over 1,400 points on Thursday before closing at 113,713 points.

The greenback, on the other hand, dropped Rs0.07, from Rs279.82 to Rs279.75.

Continue Reading

Business

FBR to Enhance Revenues: Enacts Significant Reforms, Attains Record Revenue Collection

Published

4 days ago

on

By

The Federal Board of Revenue has effectively executed significant reforms in the past year, enhancing tax administration, compliance, and digital transformation under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The FBR implemented AI-driven risk identification algorithms to improve tax audits and introduced a customer relationship management dashboard for real-time compliance monitoring.
Moreover, AI-driven Customs Intelligence and digital invoicing systems have transformed tax collection and customs operations.
The implementation of faceless customs assessment has markedly diminished clearance waits, optimizing international trade.
The unified sales tax return has streamlined the tax filing procedure, while the continuous advancement of a tier-3 data center seeks to enhance data security and AI-driven surveillance.
To enhance transparency, the FBR digitized its litigation management system for faster dispute resolution.

Continue Reading

Trending