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Overview of Regulatory Environment |
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| Institutions providing microfinance services in Pakistan include: microfinance banks (MFBs), microfinance NGOs, and commercial banks, along with government-supported Rural Support Programs (RSPs). MFBs and commercial banks are regulated by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). Microfinance NGOs and RSPs, neither of which can accept deposits, are registered by either the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan or provincial authorities. Pakistan has a specialized law for MFBs, the Microfinance Institutions Ordinance, and prudential regulations for MFBs. There are also specific guidelines on Islamic microfinance issued by the State Bank of Pakistan. A pilot Microfinance-Credit Information Bureau developed through a public-private partnership among the SBP, the microfinance industry and a private sector credit bureau is expected to be launched in May 2010 in Lahore. |
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Read this INFORMATIVE PROFILE of the legal and regulatory environment for microfinance in Pakistan from the Comparative Database on Regulation and Supervision. |
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Financial Regulator |
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| State Bank of Pakistan | ||
| Recommended Reading | |
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Amendments to the Microfinance Institutions Ordinance, 2001 – Implications for the Sector Ahmed, S. & Shah, M. (2007) Essays on Regulation and Supervision No. 25 |
| » | Update on Regulation of Branchless Banking in Pakistan CGAP (2010) |
| » | Draft: Policy Paper on Regulatory Framework for Mobile Banking in Pakistan State Bank of Pakistan (2007) |
| » | Country-Level Effectiveness and Accountability Review with a Policy Diagnostic: Pakistan Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) (2007) CGAP Aid Effectiveness Initiative |
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Poverty and Social Impact Assessment: Pakistan Microfinance Policy |