ISLAMABAD: Private-sector lending in Pakistan has doubled to 1.1 trillion rupees ($3.9 billion) since the 2021–22 fiscal year as the government pushes banks to expand credit to businesses and small farmers to support economic recovery, according to a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office on Wednesday.
The announcement comes as Pakistan, under pressure from the International Monetary Fund, seeks to revive private investment in an economy long dominated by government borrowing and weak credit growth. Private-sector lending in Pakistan has historically lagged regional peers, constrained by high interest rates, risk-averse banks and limited access to formal finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Expanding credit to businesses and agriculture is a key pillar of Islamabad’s broader reform agenda, aimed at boosting exports, job creation and economic inclusion after years of balance-of-payments crises. Pakistan’s banking sector has traditionally preferred risk-free government debt over private lending, a trend the government says it is now trying to reverse.
“Compared to 2021–22, by December 2025 lending by banks to the private sector has improved, the number of borrowers has doubled to over 303,000 and the volume of credit has reached 1.1 trillion rupees,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said, according to as statement released by his office.
