{
  "id": 17861993,
  "title": "PM Shehbaz directs banks to speed up lending to SMEs and farmers",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/02/pm-shehbaz-directs-banks-to-speed-up-lending-to-smes-and-farmers",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-02T21:52:40.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Daily Times",
    "slug": "daily-times",
    "url": "https://dailytimes.com.pk/1575899/pm-shehbaz-directs-banks-to-speed-up-lending-to-smes-and-farmers/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a review meeting on Monday regarding the facilitation of credit provision to priority sectors. According to the Daily Times, the government's top priority is improving the economy and providing employment to youth through the development of agriculture, housing, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).\n\nDawn reports that the Prime Minister directed the State Bank of Pakistan and the Ministry of Finance to show no leniency toward banks that are slow in providing loans to farmers, SMEs, and consumers under the Prime Minister’s Apna Ghar Scheme. Launched in April, the Apna Ghar Scheme provides housing and construction loans of up to Rs10 million through easy installments.\n\nWhile the Prime Minister noted that banks demonstrating good performance in providing loans for these government initiatives are commendable, he emphasized that banks are essential for private sector development and are expected to cooperate in extending loans to priority sectors.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}