SME financing rises Rs23bn to Rs1.137trn by Sept-end: Finance Division

Business Recorder reported that lending to small and medium enterprises rose by Rs23 billion, taking the total above Rs1.137 trillion at the close of September 2026. A Finance Division press release said the number of SME borrowers climbed by more than 25,000 to roughly 350,862. The figures were reviewed at the fifth meeting of the Access to Finance Steering Committee, which Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb chaired on Wednesday.

Farm lending grew by Rs94.7 billion since June, pushing agriculture finance above Rs1.35 trillion with nearly 3.46 million borrowers. Housing credit expanded by Rs103 billion to Rs426 billion, and the borrower count reached 231,550. Under the Apna Ghar programme, Rs76 billion has reached 13,214 borrowers, while Rs350 billion in approved loans awaits release.

Under the PAVE scheme, 17,262 applications worth Rs2.54 billion were approved, and 2,725 electric vehicles had been delivered by end-September. Finance Minister Aurangzeb asked authorities to turn approvals into deliveries and clear implementation bottlenecks. The government's medium-term aim is to lift SME lending to Rs2 trillion and reach 775,000 borrowers by June 2028. Aurangzeb said that goal needs an ecosystem effort spanning banks, microfinance lenders and other providers.