The State Bank of Pakistan has directed banks and DFIs to ensure that overall credit card and personal loan limits availed by a person from all banks/DFIs in aggregate should not exceed five million rupees. For implementation, the SBP has amended certain provisions of Prudential Regulations for Consumer Financing with immediate effect.
According to a Circular (BPRD Circular No 1) issued on Thursday, the State Bank has revised Regulation R-7 pertaining to Maximum Card Limit. Under the revised Regulation, banks/DFIs shall ensure that overall credit card and personal loan limits, both on secured as well as on unsecured basis, availed by one person from all banks/DFIs in aggregate should not exceed Rs 5,000,000 at any point in time, subject to the condition that the overall unsecured/clean facilities on account of credit card and personal loan of that individual do not exceed Rs2,000,000. Similarly, in Regulation R-23, a new paragraph has been added as under:
"Banks/DFIs shall ensure that overall personal loan limits and credit card limits, both on secured as well as on unsecured basis, availed by one person from all banks/DFIs in aggregate should not exceed Rs 5,000,000, at any point in time, subject to the condition that the overall unsecured/clean facilities on account of personal loan and credit card of that individual do not exceed Rs 2,000,000." Following the above-mentioned amendment, instruction concerning secured personal loans (other than secured against liquid assets) mentioned in Regulation R-23 stands withdrawn, the Circular added.
The State Bank has also amended Regulation R-3 by adding a new provision which states as under:
"Banks/DFIs may waive the requirement of 50 percent Debt Burden in case a Credit Card and Personal loan is properly secured through liquid assets (as defined in prudential regulations) with minimum 30 percent margin."
With regard to Regulation R-1 pertaining to facilities to related persons, the SBP has replaced the first paragraph of the said regulation with the following paragraph:
"This condition shall not apply to the consumer financing allowed by the banks/DFIs to their employees as part of compensation package provided the detailed terms and conditions of the benefits which the banks/DFIs want to give to their employees are specifically mentioned in the Employees Service Rules/HR Policy. These employees Service Rules/HR policy should be duly approved by the Board of Directors. Further, such consumer financing to the employees should be treated as staff loans and not as general consumer loans."
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