Banks Make Getting Business Loans Easier
Lending to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Pakistan rose 33 percent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs. 943 billion as of … Read More The post Banks Make Getting Business Loans Easier appeared first on ProPakistani .
The growth of business loans in Pakistan for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) accelerated by 33 percent year-on-year to Rs. 943 billion as of June 2026, according to data from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) analyzed by Arif Habib Limited (AHL). This surge in SME lending surpassed the overall bank lending expansion, which grew by 14 percent year-on-year during the same period.
AHL stated that this growth aligns with the SBP's goal of increasing SME financing to Rs. 1.5 trillion by June 2027. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had previously emphasized the need for accelerated SME financing to stimulate exports.
AHL's latest report revealed a positive trend in the SME sector, with the SME infection ratio, representing the proportion of non-performing loans (NPLs) within total SME lending, decreasing to 11.7 percent in the April-June 2026 quarter. This figure marked a decline from the peak of 23 percent observed in the July-September 2024 quarter.
The reduction in SME NPLs is partly attributed to robust overall lending growth, with SME NPLs consistently remaining between Rs. 80 billion and Rs. 125 billion. However, AHL cautioned that SME-related bad loans could potentially increase as the recently allocated loans mature, thereby exposing their true credit quality.
Additionally, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) recently recommended raising the ceiling for micro and SME loans. The SBP's data was originally published on the website ProPakistani.
Written by urgent.news from ProPakistani's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
