Key Takeaways
- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed banks and financial institutions to expand lending to SMEs, farmers, and the housing sector.
- The government aims to increase bank lending to agriculture to Rs2 trillion by June 2028, with current lending at Rs1.268 trillion.
- Under the Prime Minister’s Apna Ghar Scheme, 53,127 applications have been approved, with Rs45.43 billion disbursed to 8,739 applicants.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed banks and financial institutions to increase lending to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), farmers, and the housing sector, according to a review meeting on the Access to Finance Plan 2026-28.
The prime minister was informed that bank lending to agriculture had reached Rs1.268 trillion in August, against a target of Rs2 trillion by June 2028. Lending to SMEs stood at Rs1.067 trillion, with the plan targeting Rs2 trillion by the same deadline.
Sharif emphasized the importance of agriculture as the backbone of the country’s economy and directed that farmers should be provided uninterrupted access to financing on easy terms.
The prime minister also stressed the need for affordable housing, particularly for low and middle-income groups, and reviewed progress on the Prime Minister’s Apna Ghar Scheme.
So far, 147,504 applications have been received under the scheme, of which 53,127 have been approved. The approved applications were valued at Rs313.42 billion, while Rs45.43 billion had been disbursed to 8,739 applicants.
The prime minister directed the provincial chief secretaries to conduct a comprehensive survey of properties that banks could finance for people seeking to own homes under the scheme. A pilot project will be launched in Islamabad.
Officials informed the meeting that a system was being developed to identify plots across the country that met mortgage requirements. A mechanism was also being developed to involve housing developers in the scheme.
The meeting also discussed efforts to expand access to credit through digital channels. The Zarkhez-e app had received 35,838 applications, with Rs7.35 billion in financing approved and Rs1.96 billion disbursed.
The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) had provided financial literacy training to 1,096 SMEs over the past three months.
