The Pakistan Banks’ Association (PBA) has highlighted the effective and integral role the Pakistani banks play as executing agents and collaborating partners. According to Tawfiq Husain, CEO Pakistan Banks’ Association, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the government had initiated various interventions to deal with COVID-19 pandemic, rolled out the initiative of Roshan Digital Accounts, re-emphasized lending in priority sectors of low cost housing, agriculture finance and SME financing and successfully maintained the momentum that contributed to the growth of home remittances. Expressing his views, he said, “One of the major interventions for COVID relief related to the provision of concessionary financing for setting up of new industrial units. The Temporary Economic Refinance Facility (TERF) provided financing by the banks at a fixed rate for 10 years’ tenor loan. Under this facility, the total amount of loans approved was Rs.435 billion, while the total loans disbursed were Rs.320 billion.” “When COVID struck, a lot of businesses came under pressure during the lockdown period. The Rozgar Refinance Scheme of loans for payment of wages and salaries to workers helped the businesses. Under this scheme, the borrowers could not lay off their workers during the lockdown and 40% of the first loan losses of the banks were borne by government of Pakistan. The total loans disbursed by banks under the Rozgar scheme amounted to Rs.238 billion,” he added. According to him, another initiative in this respect was the rescheduling/restructuring of finance facilities in which there was deferment of repayment of principal loan amount by one year while non-servicing of mark up or the deferment of principal exceeding one year could be rescheduled for longer period. There was no classification of these financing facilities by the banks and it was reported as regular for ECIB purposes. The total amount deferred and rescheduled/restructured by the banks was Rs.910 billion. Elaborating further on the effective role played by the banks, he said, “In March/April 2020 during the peak of the lockdown, the banks, at the request of the State Bank of Pakistan, agreed to allow mark-up reset from April 1, 2020 for those mark-up resets which were otherwise due at later dates in 2020. The relief on resetting/repricing of mark-up was a one-time offer from the banks and was applicable to all borrowers in the targeted sectors which were considered most vulnerable in the then prevailing circumstances, i.e. SME, agriculture and consumer finance (self-employed individuals). Through this goodwill gesture, the banks gave up a meaningful amount of their locked in mark-up income.”