President Dr Arif Alvi said on Saturday that financial inclusion of special persons would leave a positive effect on the social and economic progress of Pakistan.
He made the remarks while presiding over a meeting of chief executive officers and presidents of banks where the financial inclusion of special persons was discussed.
The president appreciated efforts of the banking industry for facilitating the special people over the past two years, adding that the banking sector’s policy for such people could be followed in other sectors as well.
He urged the CEOs of banks to review the issues and challenges being faced while providing facilities in the microfinance sector.
“The banking sector can encourage women and special persons to avail themselves of the microfinance facility,” Alvi said, stressing that special people could play an important role in the economy of Pakistan with financial inclusion and education.
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He expressed concerns over the incidents of fraud in the banking sector and advised banks to work further on improving their monitoring systems to detect fraudulent transactions. As per instructions of the State Bank of Pakistan, the alert system to stem fraud in the banking sector should be strengthened.
The president emphasised that banks should support female employees in taking forward their careers and achieving better living standards for their families.
State Bank Governor Jameel Ahmad spoke at the meeting about the central bank’s policy framework for financial inclusion.
He pointed out that since June 2021, the State Bank had been in contact with all commercial and microfinance banks and had issued instructions for the financial inclusion of special people.
He praised Alvi for providing consistent support to ensure the financial inclusion of such persons.
During a briefing, he said that 387 model branches had been established in 108 districts for special people, who were also given internships in the fields of Islamic finance, audit and branch operations.
Around 400 special people participated in the internship programme and about 22% of the internees were female.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 28th, 2024.
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