The bad news goes on and on.
Bad loans constitute a fourth of total deposits.
In years past, finance ministers have raised taxes in the hopes of swelling government coffers. This has failed because most Pakistanis do not pay income tax, and auditors have taken bribes to look the other way. Now Sharif is taking the opposite tack. He also curbed the powers of tax collectors. Razak Dawood, scion of the Dawood family and head of Descon Group, says Sharif has lobbed the ball into the court of big business and expects them to respond.