State Bank of Pakistan Releases Third Five-Year Strategic Plan for Islamic Banking Industry

On the 5th of April 2021, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced its third five-year strategic plan for Pakistan’s Islamic banking industry. The SBP targets a 30% share of assets and deposits for the Islamic banking industry by 2025 versus the current level of around 18%. The other targets that it has set for Islamic banking include a 10% share of small and medium-sized enterprise financing and an 8% share of agriculture financing in private-sector banking.

Why it Matters?

The SBP considers Islamic banking an utmost priority, as it believes in the significant potential of the industry in ensuring broad-based economic growth and development. This plan, therefore, provides a strategy to present Islamic banking as an efficient, practical and...