PM Orders to Make Bank Loans Easier to Avail for Middle And Lower Class Citizens

Prime Minister Imran Khan has emphasized that the poor should be facilitated in availing loans from banks while taking care of their self-esteem. He made these remarks while chairing the National Coordination Committee on Housing, Construction, and Development on Thursday.

He asked all the provinces to use the online portal to make the loan approval process transparent and prompt. State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Dr. Reza Baqir briefed the meeting about the provision of loans to the poor and the middle class on easy installments.

Heads of National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), Allied Bank Limited (ABL), Meezan Bank, Bank Al-Habib, Habib Bank Limited (HBL), and the Bank of Punjab (BoP) updated the prime minister about the provision of loans under Naya Pakistan Housing Program. The meeting was told that the acquisition of loans has been made simple and separate desks have been established in bank branches. Private Banks were asked to provide loans under Islamic and traditional banking facilities.

Heads of banks assured the government to facilitate the promotion of the construction sector and enabling poor segments of society to build their own houses. They paid tribute to the Prime Minister and the government’s economic teams for taking steps to facilitate the business community and banks in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting was apprised that technology is being used to reduce the time period in the provision of loans to verify the antecedents of the borrowers.

The Prime Minister was informed that more private banks will start giving out loans soon. Chief Secretary Punjab briefed the meeting that an online portal for construction and builders has been launched and it has received 6,694 applications so far and 54 percent of them have been approved.

It was told that concerned departments have been linked with the online portal to avoid delay in approval. Every approval has been made time-bound and the applicant can track the progress of their case through the mobile application.