SBP rolls out Banking on Equality Policy 2026

The State Bank of Pakistan has launched the second edition of its Banking on Equality policy, known as BoE 2026, aimed at narrowing the gender gap and widening women's financial inclusion. Mettis Global reported that, in a press release, the bank described women's inclusion as vital for long-term prosperity and linked the initiative to its Vision 2028 agenda. The policy also seeks to draw people without bank accounts into formal banking channels through digital tools, entrepreneurship and better access to finance.

The first policy, the bank says, cut the gender divide in financial inclusion from 39% in 2021 to 29% in 2025. Over the same period, banks hired more than 17,500 women, raising women's share of their workforce to 17% from 13%. Many banks also created dedicated women's financial services units to design products aimed at women.

The four priorities cover women's representation and retention in finance, their online access to banking, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through support hubs, and smarter use of gender data. Targets cover women's share of new hires, customer outreach teams and agents in branchless banking. The policy also asks banks to provide day care for working mothers. To implement it, the central bank plans monitoring, quarterly data submissions and mystery shopping visits.