Overview

• At the Ninth Annual Microfinance Conference in Karachi, SBP Governor Jameel Ahmad said Pakistan has entered a period of durable macroeconomic stability with sharply lower inflation within a 5–7% medium‑term target and growth on a recovery path.
• The central bank said foreign exchange reserves are now almost five times their February 2023 level due to strategic interbank dollar purchases intended to build buffers and avoid higher‑cost borrowing for debt repayments.
• SBP announced principle‑based Prudential Regulations for microfinance, lifting loan caps to up to Rs5 million for agriculture, microenterprise and housing and to Rs500,000 for general loans, alongside greater flexibility for lenders.
• New tools include a World Bank‑backed Climate Risk Fund to provide liquidity support to roughly two million borrowers and a Risk Coverage Scheme offering 10% first‑loss protection in underserved areas such as Balochistan, Khyber‑Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Gilgit‑Baltistan.
• Economist Muzzammil Aslam and an ECAP official challenged the outlook, citing rising unemployment and poverty, concerns about exchange‑rate interventions and debt risks, weak exports and investment, and a World Bank growth forecast near 2.6% for FY2025‑26.