SM Tanveer calls for slashing interest rate

LAHORE:

UBG Patron-in-Chief SM Tanveer has demanded a reduction in interest rate to 6% after a significant drop in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to just 3% in August 2025.

“This development has sparked widespread calls for a reduction in interest rate, with business leaders and economists arguing that the current rate is no longer justified,” Tanveer said in a statement.

With inflation under control, he stressed, the State Bank’s decision to maintain its policy rate at 11% has come under scrutiny as the wide real interest rate gap is choking industrial and economic growth.

According to Tanveer, maintaining the rate at 11% is no longer justified and a reduction to at least 6% could have numerous benefits for the economy by reviving industrial growth, supporting job creation, boosting export competitiveness, reducing the government debt burden, and encouraging investment and business confidence.

He urged the State Bank to take immediate action to reduce the interest rate. Tanveer also called on chambers of commerce, trade associations and business leaders to stand united and demand a growth-oriented and rational economic policy. “Let us raise a strong, collective voice to demand an economic policy that supports people, strengthens businesses, and leads Pakistan to a prosperous future.”

He said the eyes of the business community and the nation were fixed on policymakers, expecting them to make decisions that would drive economic growth and development.