FIs allowed limited cloud services

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has allowed the use of limited outsourcing of cloud computing services to financial institutions for non-core operations and business support processes, a circular said on Monday.

“Under the “4.4.2 Permissible Cloud Outsourcing Arrangements”, the board information technology committee would approve all cloud-based outsourcing arrangements in line with the policy approved by the board,” SBP said in the circular. Further, financial institutions (FIs) can avail all types of cloud service models including software, platform and infrastructure as services from domestic and off-shore cloud service providers (CSPs), it added.

“FI(s) can use cloud services for non-core operations and business support processes such as HR Modules, Procurement Functions, Non-Production Environment, Sandboxing, Inventory Management, Supply Chain Management, Office Productivity, Customer Relationship Management Tools (WhatsApp, Facebook etc.), Communication Tools, Security Tools, Computation and Processing Services, Data Analytics and Risk Modeling, Middleware and Payments Processing Services/ Platforms etc,” it said.

“However, all other banking applications and allied infrastructure, which are used to store and process customers’ information relating to deposits, loans & credits and details of balances & transactions in ledger accounts of customers/ borrowers, shall not be placed under cloud-based outsourcing arrangements,” it added.

G20 summit to be held virtually

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia said on Monday it will hold the G20 summit virtually in November, instead of having leaders of the world´s richest nations converge on Riyadh as planned before the coronavirus crisis.The pandemic has forced all of the group´s meetings to be held by videoconference since March.

In that month, Saudi Arabia´s King Salman chaired an emergency virtual summit of leaders to discuss a global response to the crisis which has ravaged global economies.

"The 2020 G20 Leaders´ Summit will be held virtually on November 21-22 and will be chaired by His Majesty King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud," the kingdom said in a statement.

"The upcoming G20 Leaders´ Summit will focus on protecting lives and restoring growth, by addressing vulnerabilities uncovered during the pandemic and by laying down the foundations for a better future."