STATE BANK OF PAKISTAN

State Bank of Pakistan is the Central Bank of the country. While its constitution, as originally laid down in the SBP Order 1948, remained basically unchanged until 1st January 1974 when the Bank was nationalised, the scope of its functions was considerably enlarged. The SBP Act 1956, with subsequent amendments, forms the basis of its operations today.

A robust financial sector is the key for any country to have sustained long term growth. Within the financial sector housing finance is a fundamental pillar that supports development of the economy as housing and construction sectors are labor-intensive and have backward and forward linkages with more than forty industries. In most developed countries housing finance is one of the main drivers of the economy as in these countries percentage of housing loans to GDP is more than 50%; whereas in developing countries like Thailand it is about 15%. Moreover, in the South Asia region India has housing loans to GDP at 5%; whereas, the growing Pakistan lags behind almost all comparative economies at 1%.

Because of its apparent social & political importance, housing finance for the poor seems an area ripe for policy & regulatory intervention by most governments. However, a survey of both developing & developed nations demonstrates that there is no clear model of an enabling policy & regulatory environment that sufficiently promotes equitable access to housing finance while policing practices. In fact, virtually no common-let alone, "best"-practices exist with regard to the policies & regulations that govern housing finance for the poor.

Click here to go to the SBP website..
Documents for further reading/ downloads:
1. Development of Strategic Goals for Housing Finance in Pakistan
2. Housing Finance for the Poor, Policy & Regulation,
    A Research Paper by Dr. Carlos Martin December 11, 2007
3. HOUSING FINANCE TRAINING PROGRAM, SBP & International Finance Corporation
4. Nationwide Provision of Housing Finance, Recommendations and Action Plan.