State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmad informed the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue on Friday that the inquiry against commercial banks involved in selling dollars at high rates is in its final stages.
Briefing the committee on the matter, the governor said that the SBP has expanded the scope of the investigation against commercial banks and additional information has been sought from the banks.
He said that SBP teams are working on the matter, and the records and transactions of all the commercial banks are being reviewed.
He informed the committee that apart from broadening the scope of the investigation, adding more banks to the initial list of eight, was another reason for the delay in the completion of the inquiry.
According to the SBP, the rupee depreciated by 13.3 percent during the last fiscal year and 5.9 percent so far during the current year.
The SBP governor further told the committee that, soon after completing the inquiry in the current month, strict action will be taken against the banks found involved in exchange rate manipulation. Adding to the governor’s point, State Minister for Finance Dr. Aisha Ghaus Pasha, said that the involved banks will be fined heavily.
Briefing the committee on the details of the matter, the governor said that the increase in the current account deficit last year put pressure on the exchange rate, and banks charged higher exchange rates due to the scarcity of the dollar. He added that during that time, the dollar price increased by as much as Rs. 11 in just two days.
It is pertinent to mention here that the exchange rate came under extreme pressure during the months of May, June, and July 2022, and the rupee hit an all-time low of Rs. 239.94 against the dollar on July 28th, 2022.