SBP to expand share of Islamic banking to 35% in two years
State Bank
of Pakistan (SBP) is planning to expand the share of Islamic banking in the
country to thirty five percent in the next two years.
Deputy
Governor
of the central bank Sima Kamil while addressing a seminar in Karachi on
Tuesday said that Pakistan is working on its own Islamic banking model.
She said any private bank can now become a
fully Islamic bank. If a bank wishes to Islamize its 100, 200, or 300 branches,
the State Bank would provide them with this facility.
Kamil said
that in addition to raising awareness about Islamic banking and training
banking staff, Shariah scholars are also needed.
She,
however, admitted that the task of shifting from conventional banking to Islamic
banking is challenging.
The
deputy governor added that the State Bank has established two sectors in its
Islamic banking structure, one of which is Islamic finance and the other is
Islamic development.
Sima
Kamil said that alternatives to fintech and technology-based banking are
emerging, due to which the activities of the banking sector may shift to
alternative sectors in Pakistan as well.