Car Financing Rises for the First Time After 27 Months

Car financing increased by Rs. 245 million by the end of September to Rs. 228 billion, data revealed by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). According to Arif Habib Limited, auto financing increased by Rs. 245 million after 27 months. This was mainly witnessed due to decline in interest rates. Compared to September 2023, auto financing has declined by roughly 16 percent. The overall growth in the sector remains stunted despite some improvement in consumer inflation and a cooling effect in the central bank’s key lending rate. Meanwhile, personal loans on credit cards surged by 27.6 percent YoY to Rs. 132 billion by September 2024. Consumer financing for house building declined by 3.1 percent to Rs. 202 billion during the period in review. Overall credit issued to end-users (consumer financing) fell to Rs. 809 billion in September 2024, a 3.6 percent YoY decrease.