Central bank’s departments not being shifted to Lahore, SBP clarifies

KARACHI (92 News) – After Sindh government’s criticism on State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) decision to transfer some of its departments to Lahore, the SBP clarified on Saturday that none of its department is being shifted to Lahore. However, part of few functional departments of its subsidiary responsible to undertake operational work is being relocated to Lahore, to meet the oversight and logistic requirements for operational efficiency, the SBP spokesman said. “The selection of Lahore was purely based on availability of space as none of the other offices in particular our Islamabad Office had enough space to accommodate the manpower so relocated. The work relating to consolidation of accounts of government, federal and provincial, districts, revenue collection and payments on behalf of the governments, as also functions of commercial banks and other financial institutions would continue to be performed at Karachi in addition to head office of its subsidiary, which will continue to remain fully functional from Karachi,” he said. The spokesman added that the upcountry remittances of fresh banknotes to several offices as well as coin distribution to all offices are managed by Lahore office. As the bulk of currency operations are handled in Central and North Regions, the management of these operations from Lahore will lead to effective oversight, improve liaison with Pakistan Railways and will allow SBP BSC to fulfill its statutory functions more effectively.