ishrat husain : unleashing entrepreneurship chief guest address by mr ishrat husain, governor of the state bank of pakistan, at the launching of un secretary general ’ s report on unleashing entrepreneurship, karachi, 28 december 2004. * * * i wish to commend the fpcci and undp for launching the report of the commission appointed by the secretary general on unleashing entrepreneurship. the commission had learned scholars and practitioners such as prof. c. k. prahalad and mr. hernando de soto as members for whose views on poverty alleviation are highly refreshing and i have great respect for them. the report reflects their views and hence the report is not only useful but practicable. the commission has made an extremely important contribution to the debate on how to harness the energies and entrepreneurs of the private firms, farmers, businesses - big or small, corporate or individual - for the larger benefit of the majority of the poor. it is also gratifying to note that the fear about the power and domination of multinational corporations and private businesses that has become a rallying point for anti - globalization forces has given way to a more balanced and sobering analysis of the role of private sector and private - public partnership in the report. the rhetoric against liberalization of trade has been replaced in the report by the consensus view that open markets support economic growth. the commission has rightly distilled the lessons of last five decades ’ experience of development. it argues that favorable global and domestic macro 1environment, physical and social infrastructure and rule of law are the foundations for the private sector. and a level playing field, access to financing, access to skills and knowledge are the pillars of entrepreneurship. if i examine the findings of this report in light of what we have tried to do in pakistan during the last five years we can proudly claim that we have made strides in fostering and ensuring a stable domestic macroeconomic environment, taken initiative in building physical and social infrastructure, and made serious endeavors to ensure a level playing field for all economic players whether large or small, domestic or foreign. we have, however, not been able to make much headway so far in our quest for achieving rule of law across the board particularly for the poor in our country who still face enormous difficulties. we have also remained slack in skills and knowledge development. there is a mismatch between the skills required by the economy and the skills produced by our educational

yaseen anwar : brief overview of pakistan ’ s banking sector and innovative banking practices speech by mr yaseen anwar, governor of the state bank of pakistan, at bahria university convocation, karachi, 22 december 2014. * * * vice chancellor, bahria university, prof …. ….. distinguished faculty members, dear students, ladies and gentleman, i would like to thank bahria university for inviting me to this convocation. first of all, let me congratulate all position holders and students who have earned their distinctions and university degrees through sheer willpower, hard work and dedication. your education has provided you with the resources to lead and change. you should be determined to create your own individual voice upholding the values of creativity championed by this institution, while acknowledging your link with the community. the importance of education cannot be overemphasized. education is fundamental to any society ’ s progress for it prepares generations to equip themselves with the knowledge and skills to meet the challenges of the ever changing world. when education blends with youthful energy, it organizes people economically, socially and politically, which helps the society to step - up on the ladder of civilization. education is the catalyst of national development ; it is what distinguishes nations form one another. pakistan has immense human potential. more than half of our population is below the age of 25 ; sadly the education systems aren ’ t appropriately managed and sufficient enough to exploit this potential. this is where institutions such as bahria university and the rest of private sector can play their role to ameliorate current educational level. to increase the pace of economic development, our policies must be focused towards advancement of education. for a stronger, respected and flourishing pakistan, we must in our capacity address the issues related to education. taking benefit of this opportunity, i would like to share my thoughts on the state of banking sector and the need for adopting innovative banking practices from around the world to deliver better customer value and financial inclusion in pakistan. in recent years, growth and turnaround in pakistan ’ s banking sector has been remarkable and unprecedented. classified as pakistan ’ s and region ’ s best performing sector, the banking industry ’ s assets have risen to over us $ 97 billion with profitability of rs 187 billion ( pre - tax ) in fy12 which is exceptional and at an all - time high. similarly, during fy 2012 deposits have grown at a fast clip of 17 percent which is the highest in