MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: State Bank of Pakistan Launches Financial Literacy and Awareness Program for Farmers

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the nation’s central banking authority, recently launched a financial literacy and awareness program for farmers in an effort to increase agricultural credit outreach in the country. SBP’s program reportedly plans to increase the use of agricultural financing products and services by raising awareness among farmers about their existence, building commercial banking capacity for agricultural financing, and removing policies and regulations that obstruct the agricultural sector. SBP and the Bank of Khyber (BOK), which is backed by the government of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, recently hosted a technical session to train bank officials who specialize in agricultural finance on conducting their own financial literacy programs for farmers. A session was also held by SBP and BOK to educate the farming community on products and services, money management skills, and farmers’ rights and duties as borrowers.

Financial information for SBP is unavailable. For year-end 2012, BOK reported total assets of INR 82 billion (USD 1.3 billion) and INR 60 billion (USD 961 million) in deposits. The number of depositors is unavailable.

By Adrija Vaiciulionis, Research Associate

About State Bank of Pakistan (SBP):
Established in 1956, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is the nation’s central banking authority. SBP is responsible for the following primary functions: to regulate and supervise the nation’s financial system, to carry out monetary policy and to manage public debt. In addition, SBP is also in charge of developing the financial framework of the country, providing credit to priority sectors and furthering the Islamization of the banking system. Financial information for SBP is not available.

About Bank of Khyber (BOK):
The Bank of Khyber (BOK) is a Pakistan-based bank, which is backed by the government of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, offering Islamic and conventional banking services and microfinance loans. The bank was established as a state-owned, regional bank in 1991. In January 2006, the bank had an initial public offering (IPO) of its shares on the Karachi Stock Exchange. For year-end of 2012, BOK reported total assets of INR 82 billion (USD 1.3 billion) and INR 60 billion (USD 961 million) in deposits. The number of depositors is unavailable.

Sources and Additional Resources:

The Nation Article, “SBP Financial Literacy Programmes for Farmers,”
http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/business/29-Aug-2013/sbp-financial-literacy-programmes-for-farmers

MicroCapital Article, May 24, 2013 “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: State Bank of Pakistan’s Credit Guarantee Scheme for Small, Rural Businesses Extends Loan Repayment Term to 5 Years,”
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-state-bank-of-pakistans-credit-guarantee-scheme-for-small-rural-businesses-extends-loan-repayment-term-to-5-years/

MicroCapital Article, May 24, 2013,”MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Agricultural Mobile Applications in Kenya Increase Market Information for Farmers,”
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-agricultural-mobile-applications-in-kenya-increase-market-information-for-farmers/

MicroCapital Universe Profile: State Bank of Pakistan
https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=State+Bank+of+Pakistan+%28SBP%29

MicroCapital Universe Profile: Bank of Khyber
https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Bank+of+Khyber+%28BoK%29

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