SBP develops draft policy on banking on equality

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan said in a statement on Monday that it developed a draft policy titled ‘Banking on Equality’, which aims to introduce a gender lens within the financial sector through targeted measures to bring a shift to women friendly business practices and to significantly increase women’s financial inclusion in Pakistan.

This policy is currently in a public consultation phase and is expected to be launched shortly.

SBP has held several Focus Group Discussions led by Governor SBP, Dr Reza Baqir and Deputy Governor Sima Kamil with key stakeholders including government, financial institutions, regulatory bodies, academia, business federations, gender policy experts, civil society and women entrepreneurs.

As part of this effort, the World Bank is hosting a Webinar - “Consultative Dialogue on the State Bank of Pakistan’s Gender Financial Inclusion Policy - Banking on Equality” on Tuesday, February 23, 2021 at 5pm Pakistan time. This Webinar will draw on global experiences of gender responsive policies to inform how these may work effectively in the context of a developing country like Pakistan.

During the webinar, Governor SBP, Dr Reza Baqir will moderate a high profile international panel discussion. Joining him will be Ms. Caren Grown (Global Director, Gender, World Bank), Ms Mary Ellen Iskenderian (President & CEO, Women’s World Banking) and Ms Parwati Surjaudaja (President Director, Bank OCBC NISP Indonesia). The panelists are renowned global experts with rich experience in women’s financial inclusion and the benefit of their insights will help conclude the consultative phase of this policy.

The program will include views from Hartwig Schafer (Vice President for the South Asia Region, World Bank), Alfonso Garcia Mora (Vice President for Asia and Pacific, IFC) while Deputy Governor SBP Ms Sima Kamil will present the key pillars of th