Government borrowed 377%
more from banks in first seven months of current fiscal
The incumbent coalition
government’s borrowings from banks swelled over 377 per cent to Rs1,398 billion
during the first seven months of the current fiscal year.
Amid revenue shortfalls,
the PDM government kept borrowing from banks through treasury bills and Pakistan
Investment Bonds (PIBs) auctions to meet its growing expenditures at very
high-interest rates.
The banks are parking
their maximum liquidity in the government papers to earn risk-free profits and
are not willing to take a risk to extend loans to the private sector.
The government has
announced a plan to borrow Rs5.7 trillion more in the next two and half months
from banks.