Finance ministry, SBP issue NOCs for Sindh Bank

Ministry of finance and State Bank of Pakistan issue no-objection certificate for establishment of Sindh Bank.

KARACHI: The ministry of finance and State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) have both issued a no-objection certificate (NOC) to the Sindh government for the establishment of Sindh Bank.

SBP spokesperson Syed Waseemuddin confirmed that the NOC had been issued. However, he added that the Sindh government would have to fulfill regulatory requirements to get a licence for the bank.

He added that the bank will be registered as a company with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan.

Adviser to Sindh Chief Minister Sharmila Farooqui applauded the SBP for issuing the no-objection certificate for establishment of the Sindh Bank. She said that this outcome is a landmark achievement which will bring innovative social, agriculture and economic development in the province.

“Sindh Bank will provide a big component of microfinance and agriculture credit to farmers in rural Sindh and small enterprises in urban slums. It will extend microfinance and agriculture credit to millions,” she said. She said that Sindh Bank will be a commercial venture and that the private sector will hold a majority of its shares and  will be listed at the Karachi Stock Exchange.

Farooqui said that Sindh will be the third province which will have its own bank after Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 28^th, 2010.