ISLAMABAD (May 28 2007): Microfinancing insurance system is in the offing, which will ensure social as well as financial security to its beneficiaries. In an exclusive interview with APP, President Khushahali Bank M Ghalib Nishtar said that poverty could be eradicated in a planned period if the micro finance were upscale and micro insurance allowed to play a major role.

He said that micro insurance system would give protection against various risks and extend social cover to the clients. The bank president said that the institution continues to make leading contribution in this field and is the largest micro finance organisation in the country in terms of its network, clients and portfolio, adding the government has set a target of giving micro finance loans to three million people by 2010 against existing one million beneficiaries.

He said that performance of Khushhali Bank has been appreciated by various international financial institutions including USAID, Asian Development Bank in their research reports. These researches indicate that micro finance loan have positive impact on improving quality of life as well as health and education sector.

The microfinance sector in the country has recorded substantial growth over the past six years as an outcome of a conducive policy and regulatory framework as well as supportive investments undertaken by the government towards the development of this sector.

He said that with in period of six years, the Khushhali Bank has become 16th largest micro finance organisation, adding recovery rate is 95 per cent, which is very quite satisfactory.

The bank has presence in 90 districts through a network of 150 branches and 37 service centers and over 280,526 active clients with cumulative disbursement of over Rs10 billion.

The President said that the bank's main thrust is on rural areas especially in Sindh, FATA and Balochistan and expanding access to low income households across the marginalised territory remains a top priority