Financial institutions advised to reschedule loans

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Tuesday advised microfinance banks to reschedule loans to borrowers of the flood-affected areas under the existing prudential regulations, where the possibility of recovery exists.

For all such rescheduled/restructured loans and advances, the microfinance banks may defer loan provisioning up to December 31, 2011, the SBP said in a circular.

Similar advice was issued to banks and development finance institutions (DFIs) for providing relief to the borrowers of the flood-affected areas to reschedule agriculture and SME loans and advances.

Reserves set new record at $17bn

Remittances sent by overseas Pakistanis and narrow current account deficit were the key reasons of record build up of reserves. — File Photo

KARACHI: For the first time, country’s foreign exchange reserves crossed the figure of $17 billion to set a new record, the State Bank reported on Thursday.
Remittances sent by overseas Pakistanis and narrow current account deficit were the key reasons of record build up of reserves.

Just two years back the country was about to default on foreign payments and it hurried to sign an emergency loan agreement with the IMF to avoid default. The agreement of $11.3 billion, of which over $7 billion have already landed into country’s reserves, boosted confidence and saved the country from another possible crisis.

Asia to lead world recovery but on hot money: IMF

China's allegedly undervalued yuan has been the target of strong complaints from the United States and Europe, who say Beijing is unfairly gaining a trade advantage by cheapening its exports. – File Photo

JAKARTA: Asia is leading the global recovery but must beware of inflation and “excessively easy” domestic finance fuelled by foreign capital inflows, the International Monetary Fund said Thursday.

The Fund's latest economic outlook for the Asia-Pacific region said growth would moderate in 2011 in the advanced economies while remaining “particularly strong” in China, India and Indonesia.