Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has called for improved data availability and information-sharing to support responsible lending and strengthen risk assessment for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Speaking at the fifth meeting of the Access to Finance Steering Committee, the minister said financial institutions should have access to the information needed to assess borrowers and expand cash-flow-based lending.
He stressed that the use of data must be subject to appropriate safeguards and clear limitations on its purpose.
Aurangzeb directed the committee to place greater emphasis on implementation, measurable outcomes and follow-up actions. He also called for systematic monitoring of progress on decisions and recommendations made by the committee’s sub-committees.
The meeting was informed that outstanding SME loans increased by Rs23 billion to Rs1.137 trillion during the first quarter of FY27. The number of SME borrowers also rose by more than 25,000 to approximately 350,862.
The finance minister called for faster progress towards the government’s medium-term target of increasing SME financing to Rs2 trillion and expanding the number of borrowers to 775,000 by June 30, 2028.
He said the target would require an ecosystem-wide approach involving commercial banks, microfinance institutions and other financial service providers.
