SBP announces Monetary Policy dates for bringing transparency

May 21, 2021

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The State bank of Pakistan has said it will be announcing a semi-annual plan for Monetary Policy Committee meetings on an ongoing basis to make policy more transparent and predictable.

The SBP said it has decided to follow international best practices in managing analyst forecasts, noting that many central banks around the world publish the MPC meeting schedule in advance.

In this regard, the next four meetings of the Monetary Policy Committee will be held on May 28, July 27, September 20 and November 26 in the year 2021.

At least six MPC meetings are scheduled annually. In addition, the MPC may hold emergency meetings as and when required.

In 2020, SBP Increased its engagement with analysts, the media, various business forums, academics and investors through regular briefings with senior management to streamline the exchange of information on monetary policy.

In January 2021, due to severe uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, MPC decided for the first time to provide future monetary policy guidelines to facilitate policy predictability and economic decision-making.

In 2005, the State Bank of Pakistan began issuing monetary policy reports. In 2009, it was decided to hold at least six meetings of monetary policy (January, March, May, July, September and November). It was also decided to hold a press conference to announce the monetary policy decision in January and July to finalize the monetary policy statement.