ISLAMABAD: The Coordination Committee of Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) met in Islamabad on Wednesday, as part of its quarterly session.
SECP Chairman Zafar Hijazi and the SBP Governor Ashraf Mahmood Wathra along with their teams attended the meeting. The committee was briefed on the main features of the eight point agenda items and decisions were taken in this regard. During the meeting, the SBP appreciated SECP’s efforts with regard to the progress on the Companies Bill, 2016, which also includes enhancing disclosure for the real estate companies.
The committee also discussed the Draft Bond Pricing Agency (BPA) Rules, 2016, and it was recommended that the BPA oversight committee, comprising officials from SBP and SECP should be constituted to ensure fair pricing of bonds, while the other required measures would be taken for the bonds market development.
However, in order to improve the regulatory regime, a joint SECP-SBP Committee was constituted to make recommendations for effective regulation of the real estate sector to the federal and provincial governments.
The issue of maintaining financial stability was also discussed and it was decided that the SECP would share its financial stability setup with the SBP so that both institutions can learn from each other’s experiences.
It was informed that both the institutions have set up departments for financial stability-related issues and coordination. The issues regarding the Draft Netting of Financial Contract Bill were also discussed and a broad agreement on the draft was reached in the meeting. However, further review of the draft will be undertaken by the SECP.
