ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday directed the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to accelerate housing loan disbursements after being informed that only Rs76 billion of the Rs426 billion in approved loans under the government’s Apna Ghar Programme had reached borrowers, leaving nearly Rs350 billion undisbursed.
Chairing a meeting with presidents and chief executive officers (CEOs) of leading commercial banks, the prime minister called for simplifying lending procedures and removing bottlenecks that were delaying payments to eligible borrowers.
Launched on April 30, 2026, the Apna Ghar Programme aims to expand access to affordable housing finance. However, by the end of September, only 13,214 borrowers had received loans worth Rs76 billion, highlighting a substantial gap between loan approvals and actual disbursements.
READ MORE: PM Apna Ghar programme: 53,100 housing loans approved since June 2026: Schehzad
The slow pace of disbursements comes as the government has set an ambitious financing target of Rs700 billion under the programme for the 2026-27 financial year, with plans to construct or provide 125,000 housing units.
The meeting was also informed that consultations were under way on a framework to improve developers’ access to financing.
The meeting also reviewed progress in financing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with 350,862 business owners having received loans totalling Rs1,137 billion.
The government aims to increase SME financing to Rs1,500 billion and expand the number of beneficiaries to 565,000 by June 2027.
Describing SMEs as the backbone of the economy, Prime Minister Sharif said their growth could generate employment opportunities and stimulate economic activity.
He stressed the need to facilitate access to credit so that businesses could expand and contribute more effectively to economic growth.
On agricultural financing, officials informed the prime minister that lending had reached Rs1,352 billion by the end of September 2026, benefiting 3,455,313 people.
The government aims to raise agricultural financing to Rs1,500 billion and increase the number of beneficiaries to 4.5 million by June 2027.
Sharif emphasised the need to improve access to credit for small-scale farmers, saying affordable financing could help them adopt modern farming techniques, improve productivity and strengthen the agricultural sector.
He said the strength of the banking sector should also be reflected in its ability to meet the financing needs of small farmers.
The prime minister called for closer co-ordination between the SBP and commercial banks to streamline lending and disbursement procedures across the housing, SME and agricultural sectors.
He urged banks to ensure that approved financing translated into timely disbursements, enabling citizens, businesses and farmers to benefit from available credit.
He also praised banks for their efforts to expand lending to these priority sectors and called for further improvements in access to financing.
Bank representatives expressed confidence in the government’s economic policies and said they were working to strengthen co-operation with the government and the SBP to expand financing for housing, SMEs and agriculture.
The meeting was attended by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Housing Minister Riaz Pirzada, Information Minister Atta Tarar, Economic Affairs Minister Ahad Cheema, Minister of State for Finance Bilal Kayani and SBP Governor Jameel Ahmad.
Presidents and CEOs of the National Bank of Pakistan, United Bank Limited, Habib Bank Limited, Meezan Bank, Bank Alfalah, Standard Chartered Bank, the Bank of Punjab, BankIslami and the House Building Finance Corporation (HBFC) also attended the meeting.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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