Banking & Finance
Advising banks, borrowers and financial institutions on lending, security structures and regulatory obligations.
Banking & Finance overview
Pakistan’s banking sector is licensed and supervised by the State Bank of Pakistan under the Banking Companies Ordinance, 1962 and the State Bank of Pakistan Act, 1956 — the two statutes that between them govern who may carry on banking business, how banking companies are capitalised and governed, and what the State Bank can require of them. A financing transaction sits on top of that supervisory framework: a facility agreement has to work both as a matter of contract between lender and borrower, and as a matter of compliance with the Prudential Regulations the State Bank issues for corporate, SME, consumer, agriculture and microfinance lending. KBL & Associates drafts and negotiates on both levels at once, and where a facility needs a security package, we register and perfect it under whichever regime actually applies — a charge over company assets registers with SECP under the Companies Act, 2017, while security over movable collateral such as inventory or receivables can instead be registered under Pakistan’s newer secured transactions regime, built specifically to give lenders a faster and more reliable claim than the older mortgage and pledge regimes allowed. When a facility goes into default, recovery follows its own specialised procedure rather than ordinary civil litigation — a distinction that changes how a recovery clause should be drafted from the outset, not after a default has already happened.
Loan & Facility Documentation
Drafting and negotiating facility agreements, security documents and guarantees for local and syndicated lending.
Security & Collateral
Registration and perfection of charges, mortgages and pledges over corporate and real assets.
Regulatory Advisory
State Bank of Pakistan compliance considerations for lenders, borrowers and payment-related structures.
Governing law & regulators
The statutes and regulators that actually govern banking and finance matters in Pakistan — the specific instruments a transaction here gets tested against, not a general overview.
Constitutes the State Bank of Pakistan and sets its regulatory and monetary policy mandate.
sbp.org.pk →Governs licensing, capital, governance and permissible business of banking companies.
sbp.org.pk →SBP’s operating rules for corporate, SME, consumer, agriculture and microfinance lending.
sbp.org.pk →Registry-based regime for taking and perfecting security over movable property.
secp.gov.pk →Specialised court procedure for banks and financial institutions to recover non-performing finance.
sbp.org.pk →Common questions, answered directly
A banking and finance lawyer drafts and negotiates loan and facility documentation, structures security and collateral arrangements, and advises on compliance with State Bank of Pakistan regulations for lenders and borrowers.
Other practice areas
Overseas sponsors and lenders
Facility documentation, security perfection and State Bank compliance are regularly handled for lenders and sponsors based outside Pakistan. Signing is arranged by attested power of attorney; charge registration and regulatory filings are completed in Lahore and Islamabad without the client attending.
Overseas instructions are a routine part of the firm’s work rather than an exception. Where a matter also touches family law — guardianship, succession or a child’s documents — it is handled by the same firm rather than referred out. See child adoption and guardianship from Pakistan or all thirteen practice areas.