News Desk |
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has directed banks/DFIs/MFBs including branches of foreign banks to post their quarterly, half-yearly and annual financial statements of the last 10 years on their websites. In order to align the frequency and timelines of financial disclosures of banks/DFIs/MFBs (listed or non-listed) including branches of foreign banks with the Companies Act 2017 and best practices, the SBP has decided that at the end of each financial year, all banks/MFBs are required to prepare their annual financial statements in the prescribed manner, as on the last working day of that year.
According to the SBP’s fresh directives on Financial Statements and Frequency, Timelines & Posting on Website, these financial statements together with the auditor’s report, directors’ report and chairman’s review report, as passed in the Annual General Meeting, will be circulated in hard form to the shareholders as well as furnished as returns, to the SBP within ninety (90) days of the close of the period to which they relate. The banks will also publish an abridged version of the annual financial statements in the newspaper(s) within the stipulated time.
The previous procedures of account opening didn’t involve taking-in the bio-metrics as accounts could be developed just by filling of printed forms along with the submission of ID-cards and some bills.
All DFIs will be required to prepare their annual financial statements together with the auditor’s report, directors’ report and chairman’s review report and will be circulated to the shareholders as well as furnished to the SBP within ninety (90) days of the close of the financial period to which they relate.
All branches of foreign banks operating in Pakistan will publish financial statements together with the auditor’s report and furnished to the SBP within ninety (90) days of the close of the financial period to which they relate.
The SBP said that for the 1st and 3rd quarter, all banks, DFIs and MFBs, including the branches of foreign banks operating in Pakistan, will prepare their quarterly financial statements within thirty (30) days of the end of the quarter to which they relate.
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The instructions of publishing an abridged version of quarterly and half-yearly financial statements in the newspaper(s) by all banks/DFIs including branches of foreign banks, stands withdrawn. Henceforth, these financial statements of banks/DFIs/MFBs including branches of foreign banks shall be placed on their website within the aforesaid time.
In addition, the half-yearly (2nd quarter) financial statements, with limited scope review by the statutory auditors, shall be prepared by all banks/DFIs/MFBs, including the branches of foreign banks, within the period of sixty (60) days of the close of their half-year (2nd quarter). These financial statements will also be placed on their website within the aforesaid time.
Now, SBP has asked the banks to start doing the biometrics of their accounts which were registered using previous procedures especially those before 2016.
Also, Banks in Pakistan have started doing the biometric verification for all of its users, under the directives of State Bank of Pakistan.
In a bid to further secure the banking procedures in Pakistan, the Pakistani banks have started registering the biometrics-related data for all of their account holders using an automated e-registration system. The previous procedures of account opening didn’t involve taking-in the bio-metrics as accounts could be developed just by filling of printed forms along with the submission of ID-cards and some bills.
Now, SBP has asked the banks to start doing the biometrics of their accounts which were registered using previous procedures especially those before 2016.
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State Bank of Pakistan has assigned a deadline for this fiscal year and has advised the banks to carry out these registrations at their earliest. Keeping in view of the directives, major banks of the country issued customer-base wide messages asking the users to visit their respective branches and get the biometrics done.