million us $ 12. 0 billion data not available but perhaps rising rs. 161 billion 8 % positive exports tax revenues rupee - dollar parity foreign direct investment foreign exchange reserves poverty incidence us $ 88 million per month us $ 7. 8 billion rs. 391 billion depreciating us $ 472 million us $ 1. 6 billion 33 % gdp growth rate inflation fiscal deficit / gdp current account / gdp public debt / gdp external debt / gdp interest payments / govt. revenues remittances positive positive positive positive positive negative positive negative note : all indicators in column 1 pertain to 1998 - 99 or october 1999. all indicators in column 2 pertain to 2004 - 05 or end october 2004.

. the evolution or trajectory of microfinance has so far remained positive despite the fact that many challenges arose along the way which i will cover later. presently, nine mfbs are operating in pakistan. all these mfbs are privately owned and reflect diversity of ownership and approaches to microfinance banking. considering that the market has potential and the regulatory framework is supportive, the ownership in mfbs has flowed both from local and international investors including banks, development agencies, investment funds, mobile network operators, and large domestic mfis. one of the success stories in microfinance sector is the unique opportunity in pakistan to utilize alternative delivery channels due to the presence of a sound and pro - growth regulatory framework, dense population, and high demand for financial services. the motivation for developing alternative channels for service delivery is twofold : firstly, there is enormous scope for expanding outreach, especially to hard - to - reach rural areas. the emerging models relying on “ banking agents ” will greatly extend the distribution of financial services to the poor and marginalized segments. secondly, alternative delivery channels promise significant cost reduction to institutions. the traditional microfinance business is based on personal, one - on - one relationships. thus, personnel expenses often account for a bis central bankers ’ speeches significant portion of microfinance operating expenses. the use of banking agents will help to reduce the operating costs of the sector. the recent development in mobile phone banking is highly encouraging. the expansion in the retail network of microfinance has arisen overwhelmingly from agents and mobile phone channels. within a span of just two years, there are now almost 18, 000 branchless banking outlets surpassing the 10, 000 conventional bank branches. the combined daily transaction volume of the two prominent branchless banking models “ easypaisa ” and “ omni ” now averages over 175, 000, with an average size of rs. 3, 700. as per an independent world bank – cgap study, the small size of the transaction indicates enhanced access to finance by the poor and the marginalized unbanked people, an important milestone for financial inclusion. the early successes of mobile banking in pakistan are attributable to the collaborative efforts of a wide range of stakeholders, including the government, regulatory authorities, development agencies, nadra, telecom operators, financial institutions, and technology firms. sbp continues to work with all stakeholders, in order to support this nascent industry that is expected to be a key driver in expanding financial services to