ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was told on Tuesday that a new scoring mechanism would be introduced to put banks’ performance under the spotlight, track progress towards lending targets and push financial institutions to expand credit for businesses.
The proposal was presented at a high-level review meeting chaired by the prime minister on improving access to finance for the business sector, with a particular focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), a key pillar of economic activity.
In a briefing, officials told the meeting that the proposed bank scoring system would measure financial institutions’ contribution towards expanding credit facilities for SMEs and other priority sectors, creating a clearer mechanism to assess their role in supporting businesses.
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The prime minister approved a comprehensive framework aimed at accelerating the availability of financing for entrepreneurs and improving access to much-needed credit.
According to the briefing, SME financing by banks, which stood at Rs1.15 trillion in June 2026, has been set for a sharp rise, with the target of increasing it to Rs2 trillion by June 2028.
The government has also set a target to increase the number of SME borrowers from the current 324,000 to 775,000 by June 2028, while raising the share of SME financing in total bank lending from 9.9 percent to 13 percent over the same period.
Sharif said affordable and accessible financing was essential for sustainable economic growth, adding that improved credit availability would fuel investment, expand production capacity, create jobs and help boost exports.
Directing authorities to ensure faster access to credit for businesses, particularly SMEs, the prime minister said small and medium-sized enterprises played a vital role in strengthening the national economy and required stronger financial support.
He announced that banks providing the highest levels of financing to businesses, especially SMEs, would receive annual awards to encourage greater participation by financial institutions in backing private-sector growth.
The meeting also approved a three-tier governance structure to advance the Access to Finance (A2F) initiative.
Under the framework, the prime minister will chair a high-level committee overseeing measures to improve financial access.
A steering committee on access to finance will be headed by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, with State Bank of Pakistan Governor Jameel Ahmad serving as co-chairman.
Sector-specific subcommittees will also be established for SMEs, agriculture, information technology, renewable energy and housing finance to address the financing needs of individual sectors.
The government said the measures were aimed at strengthening private-sector growth, accelerating economic activity and creating employment opportunities through improved access to finance.
The meeting was attended by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Economic Affairs Minister Ahad Cheema, Minister of State Bilal Kayani, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Haroon Akhtar, SBP Governor Jameel Ahmad, Pakistan Banks’ Association Chairman Zafar Masud and other senior government officials.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026