Published on, Aug. 19 — August 19, 2025 11:54 AM
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has asked Pakistan to remove the finance secretary from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) board and immediately fill two vacant deputy governor positions to strengthen institutional independence.
The lender has also recommended amending the Banking Companies Ordinance of 1962 to remove the federal government’s authority to instruct SBP to inspect commercial banks, further reducing state influence over financial regulation.
In its Governance and Corruption Diagnosis Mission report, the IMF stressed that these reforms would ensure stronger autonomy at the central bank, even though the government remains the sole shareholder of SBP.
Earlier, in 2022, Pakistan revised the SBP Act due to pressure from the IMF, granting complete independence to the central bank and removing the finance secretary’s vote on the SBP board.
Currently, the SBP board includes the governor and eight non-executive directors, one from each province. However, two of the three sanctioned deputy governor posts remain vacant, with only Saleem Ullah serving in finance, inclusion, and innovation.
In the meantime, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb stated that the government does not intervene in establishing interest rates or exchange rates, which are set by the State Bank of Pakistan. He further mentioned that an IMF evaluation team will arrive in Pakistan during September to discuss a $1 billion loan installment.