Dollar manipulation probe complete, decision to be made on action
Business
Action to be taken against money gained by banks; either fiscal or regulatory, Governor SBP
KARACHI (Web Desk) - After talks on whether to pursue an apparent punishment from a regulatory or budgetary aspect the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) will announce its decision in a matter of "days" about the alleged exchange-rate manipulation by commercial banks.
SBP Governor Jameel Ahmad stated, "SBP has visited 13 banks and highlighted the flaws."
Ahmad implied that the SBP had actually found the banks responsible for exchange-rate manipulation by saying, "The only problem (left) is what (kind of) action will be taken against this (foreign exchange) money gained by banks," adding, "There are two types of actions: fiscal (which includes tax-related measures) and regulatory.”
"This is the problem that s caused the delay. However, either the SBP or the government would take action. However, neither activity can be performed simultaneously. This causes problems with the law.
The SBP chairman also stated that January through September 2022, "particularly June and July," was the time frame the central bank concentrated on for the examination. He said that "the problem of currency volatility was eliminated in the fourth quarter. According to Ahmad, banks made Rs100 billion in gross income in the first three months of 2022.
The head of the central bank stated that he anticipates a $9 billion current account deficit (CAD) for FY23. Ahmad was upbeat about Pakistan s forthcoming financial responsibilities and said that inflows are scheduled.
"There are problems, but we have solutions. By the end of FY23 repayments after rollovers will not exceed $3 billion,” he said, further adding, “$15 billion has already been paid for through rollovers and repayments ($6 billion and $9 billion, respectively).”
