$300m. World Bank loan for Pak. banking system

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, OCT. 24 The Western bloc continues to bestow `monetary' benefits on Pakistan ever since it decided to side with the United States in its fight against international terrorism, in general, and the Taliban militia and Osama bin Laden, in particular.

The World Bank has approved a $300 million credit for the Pakistan Banking Sector Restructuring and Privatisation Project. The Bank approved the project as Pakistan is working to develop a competitive private banking system, free from the ``interference of vested interests and operating under a strong regulatory framework''. Pakistan is also developing a more effective banking court system.

``Pakistan has made good progress in reforming its banking system over the past four years,'' said Mr. Joe Pernia, World Bank Lead Financial Sector Specialist for the South Asia Region.

The project follows a $250 million World Bank loan in 1997, (co- financed with another $250 million by Japan) which supported the initial stages of Pakistan's national banking reform programme that year.

The Bank said that a new banking court system had processed nearly half of pending loan default cases at an unprecedented rate. Higher quality new loans, combined with improved loan recovery and resolution of problem loans, had helped the banking system achieve improvements in capital adequacy, asset quality, efficiency and profitability. Disclosure standards, fundamental to the reform programme, had become much more stringent.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : International
Previous : 'Hindu women raped in Bangladesh'
Next     : Taliban waiting for winter