State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has made a comprehensive review of the Prudential Regulations (PRs) for SME Financing to promote sustainable, responsible, and inclusive SME finance. In addition to the introduction of some new regulations, several existing PRs have also been revised to make the PRs principles based, remove structural barriers in SME finance, encourage banks to leverage technology, and foster partnerships with Fintechs and other non-financial service providers to better serve the financing needs of the SMEs.
The draft PRs have been uploaded on SBP official website for public consultation at https://www.sbp.org.pk/PR-SME-Financing/PR.asp. The consultation period will be open for two weeks from June 05-20, 2025. The feedback may be submitted at SME.PRs@sbp.org.pk using the Feedback Form provided on the SBP website, accessible via the following link: https://www.sbp.org.pk/PR-SME-Financing/PR.asp. The feedback so received will help us to further align the prudential regulations for SME finance with the SMEs’ market dynamics.
The SBP encourages all the stakeholders including the banks, business analysts, trade bodies and public at large to share their valuable feedback on the draft PRs.