Govt set to borrow from banks in last quarter of FY 2023-24

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has planned to borrow around Rs 5 trillion from banks in the last quarter of the current fiscal year (2023-24), primarily through the sale of T-bills and bonds, ARY News reported.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has released the auction schedule of T-bills and bonds till April 2024. In the last quarter of the current financial year (April-June), the government will borrow about Rs5 trillion from the banks.

The experts said that the government will cover the budget deficit by selling investment bonds and the MTBs, also commonly known as T-bills to commercial banks.

The SBP maintained that Pakistan investment bonds worth Rs 2490 billion rupees will be sold in April and the government will borrow Rs 2475 billion from the auction of T-bills from April to June.

“From April to June 2024, the government will sell T-bills and bonds worth Rs 4965 billion,” it added.

On the other hand, the financial experts said that Pakistan’s local debt is increasing continuously. “Pakistan’s debt increased by 6.51 percent to Rs 64,805 billion in eight months of the current financial year,” they said.

The experts added that Pakistan’s debt increased by 19 percent in February 2024 compared to February 2023.