Pakistan sets PKR 700 billion housing finance target

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday urged commercial banks to accelerate lending for housing, small and medium-sized enterprises and agriculture, emphasizing that faster disbursement of approved loans was essential to support economic activity and improve access to financing.

Sharif met the heads of 10 leading commercial banks in Islamabad and directed the State Bank of Pakistan to further simplify loan approval and disbursement procedures so more citizens, businesses and farmers could benefit from government-backed financing programs.

How much housing finance is Pakistan targeting?

The government has set a PKR 700 billion financing target under the Prime Minister’s Apna Ghar program to support 125,000 housing units. Loans worth PKR 426 billion have been approved so far, but only PKR 76 billion has been disbursed, highlighting the gap Sharif wants banks to narrow.

Sharif stressed that beneficiaries would receive meaningful support only when approved funds reached them on time.

Officials also told the meeting that consultations were underway on a framework to improve developers’ access to financing.

SME lending target set at PKR 1.5 trillion

SME financing stood at PKR 1.137 trillion, covering about 350,862 borrowers, according to the briefing.

The government aims to increase SME lending to PKR 1.5 trillion and expand the number of beneficiaries to 565,000 by June 2027.

Sharif described SMEs as the backbone of Pakistan’s economy, saying their growth would create employment opportunities and stimulate economic activity.

He said improved access to financing for small businesses, housing and agriculture would help boost employment, investment, productivity and overall economic growth.

Agricultural financing to expand

Agricultural financing stood at PKR 1.352 trillion at the end of September 2026, benefiting about 3.46 million people, officials told the meeting.

The government aims to raise agricultural lending to PKR 1.5 trillion and increase the number of beneficiary farmers to 4.5 million by June 2027.

Sharif said agricultural credit was crucial to improving farmers’ economic conditions, increasing agricultural output and strengthening food security.

He called for priority access to financing for small farmers so they could adopt modern farming techniques and increase productivity. He also stressed the need to expand agricultural lending to smaller farmers.

Banks pledge cooperation

The delegation expressed confidence in the government’s economic policies and praised Sharif’s leadership in achieving economic stability and improving the direction of the economy, according to the meeting account.

Bank representatives said they were working to strengthen cooperation with the government to expand lending to priority sectors.

Federal ministers including Ahad Khan Cheema and Muhammad Aurangzeb attended the meeting, along with State Bank Governor Jameel Ahmad and senior officials.

Representatives of the National Bank of Pakistan, United Bank Limited, Habib Bank Limited, Meezan Bank, Bank Alfalah, Standard Chartered Bank, the Bank of Punjab, BankIslami and the House Building Finance Corporation also participated.