SBP moving too fast?
With a 0.5 percent cut announced on Saturday; the Monetary Policy rate is now six percent. This should be the end of the easing cycle. There were expectations that the…
SBP required to exercise prudence
The rate cut has brought a sigh of relief for an otherwise disgruntled business community. The decision is better than the expectations as most of the analysts and economists were…
Position vindicated by SBP
I wrote an article under the title "The true budget deficit" carried by this newspaper on October 13, 2014, which was written in response to the government's claim that it…
SBP and bank regulation
IN aggregate terms, Pakistan has a strong, stable and well-capitalised banking sector. The benchmark indicator of the health of the banking system, regulatory capital to risk-weighted assets, stood at nearly…
The SBP report: facts and fiction
The annual report of the State Bank of Pakistan for FY14, released on December 10, makes for fascinating reading. It seems to oscillate between telling the truth and defending the…
SBP, MoF must get their claws into business
No matter how it is happening, but it is a fact that on paper economic performance has shown improvement. When the economy is meeting numbers in tough conditions, it is…
The SBP autonomy
Wathra the acting governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) was confirmed the day before Ishaq Dar left the country on a two-country tour - the UK with the…
Legal vs operational autonomy of SBP
Major amendments were made by the parliament in 1994 and 1997 in the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Act on the initiative of the SBP itself that gave it, inter…
Sensible thinking at SBP
Why has the central bank not slashed the interest rate given the average inflation is down to below 8.65 percent and is probably going to remain low? Well, the message…
Why they fear an autonomous SBP
In an earlier article (‘The poor state of the State Bank’, February 1, 2014), I had criticised the PPP government for appointing commercial bankers as governors and deputy governors of…
