‘Talks on to give SME bank status to KCBL’

Islamabad : Talks are under way between the government of Gilgit-Baltistan and the State Bank of Pakistan for the grant of the status of a small and medium enterprise bank to the Karakoram Cooperative Bank Limited, said KCBL GB chief executive officer and general manager Syed Ghulam Muhammad.

He told reporters that the bank as one of GB’s most vibrant financial institutions was playing an active role in the socioeconomic development of the region.

The KCBL CEO said his bank had 48 branches across Gilgit-Baltistan, around 279,000 account-holders and around 750 staff members catering for the credit needs of cooperative societies, traders, contractors and other businesspersons from the middle and lower middle classes.

He said the loans were offered for the improvement of the economic standard of the people, especially rural communities, thereby creating employment opportunities and boosting commercial activities throughout the region.

“Ours is the largest commercial bank in the region and it is connected with the community. Excellent performance and people’s immense confidence due to convenient and quality services has set the bank on its feet over the years,” he said.

The KCBL chief said the bank’s services were available even in the remote areas of Gilgit-Baltistan.

He said not only did the bank, whose chairman was the GB chief secretary, help in self-employment but it also played an exemplary role in the economic development of the region.

Syed Ghulam Muhammad said GB had no industry, so people were more dependent on government jobs, while that bank had played its significant role in providing employment to the private sector.