{"id":104563,"date":"2026-01-20T15:45:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T10:45:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zameen.com\/news\/?p=104563"},"modified":"2026-01-20T15:45:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T10:45:13","slug":"sbp-human-oversight-key-loan-approvals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zameen.com\/news\/sbp-human-oversight-key-loan-approvals.html","title":{"rendered":"AI must not replace human judgment in loan approvals: SBP Governor"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Karachi: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)\u2019s Governor Jameel Ahmad has urged financial institutions to prioritise human oversight over AI in sensitive areas such as loan approvals and customer due diligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHuman supervision remains essential to monitor AI-driven decisions, especially in critical functions like credit approvals and customer due diligence,\u201d Ahmad said at the sixth AlBaraka Forum Regional Conference \u2013 Pakistan 2026, titled Islamic Economy in the Digital Age: Innovation Within the Framework of Compliance, on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the same time, the SBP governor acknowledged the role of AI and other technological advancements in driving growth across the banking sector. He highlighted that, thanks to SBP\u2019s policy interventions, expansion of digital financial services, and strong consumer adoption of online platforms, \u201cthe national payment ecosystem has witnessed significant progress in recent years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zameen.com\/news\/wp-admin\/post.php?post=83322&amp;action=edit\">SBP asks banks to increase housing loan <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.zameen.com\/news\/wp-admin\/post.php?post=83322&amp;action=edit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">share by 7%<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mobile banking apps, including branchless banking, wallets, and electronic money institutions (EMIs), now account for 78% of total digital retail transactions, Ahmad noted. He added that over 70% of people globally use at least one digital financial service, with more than 80% willing to adopt digital banking, signaling a major shift in consumer behaviour and expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Focusing on Shariah-compliant banking, Ahmad said Islamic finance has entered the digital era with unique characteristics. \u201cIslamic finance should closely connect financial activities with the real economy, ensuring fairness, transparency, and shared prosperity,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is not merely conventional banking with different parameters but a deliberate effort to build an inclusive ecosystem that serves diverse segments of society rather than a select few.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He stressed that adopting digital innovation is a means to achieve broader socioeconomic goals. \u201cTechnology in Islamic finance and the wider financial sector can expand financial inclusion, lower costs, remove geographic barriers, and provide access to finance for small businesses, farmers, and women entrepreneurs, groups historically underserved by the formal financial system,\u201d Ahmad said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zameen.com\/news\/wp-admin\/post.php?post=84592&amp;action=edit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">SBP urges private firms to take house loans for employees<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The SBP granted principal approval to five digital banks in 2022. Currently, one digital bank has begun Shariah-compliant operations, while another is in the pilot phase, marking a new chapter for Islamic digital finance in Pakistan. Initiatives like Raast, Assan Mobile Account, digital onboarding frameworks, Roshan Digital Account, and the licensing of digital banks have collectively expanded access to formal financial services for the masses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, Ahmad warned that technology could merely replicate conventional financial models in digital form, prioritising speed and scale over substance and compliance with Shariah principles. To mitigate this, he urged financial institutions to go beyond basic regulatory compliance, establish strong data protection frameworks, and maintain the highest standards of governance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Karachi: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)\u2019s Governor Jameel Ahmad has urged financial institutions to prioritise human oversight over AI in sensitive areas such as loan approvals and customer due diligence. \u201cHuman supervision remains essential to monitor AI-driven decisions, especially in critical functions like credit approvals and customer due diligence,\u201d Ahmad said at the sixth AlBaraka Forum Regional Conference \u2013 Pakistan 2026, titled Islamic Economy in the Digital Age: Innovation Within the Framework of Compliance, on Monday. At the same time, the SBP governor acknowledged the role of AI and other technological advancements in driving growth across the banking sector. He highlighted that, thanks to SBP\u2019s policy interventions, expansion of digital financial services, and strong consumer adoption of online platforms, \u201cthe national payment ecosystem has witnessed significant progress in recent years.\u201d Read: SBP asks banks to increase housing loan share by 7% Mobile banking apps, including branchless banking, wallets, and electronic money institutions (EMIs), now account for 78% of total digital retail transactions, Ahmad noted. He added that over 70% of people globally use at least one digital financial service, with more than 80% willing to adopt digital banking, signaling a major shift in consumer behaviour and expectations. Focusing on Shariah-compliant&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":76276,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15016],"tags":[60635,70776,62789,60340,70777,62802,63810,62842,6066,2631],"persona":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-104563","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-developments","8":"tag-banking-sector","9":"tag-customer-due-diligence","10":"tag-digital-banking","11":"tag-financial-inclusion","12":"tag-human-oversight","13":"tag-islamic-finance","14":"tag-jameel-ahmad","15":"tag-loan-approvals","16":"tag-sbp","17":"tag-state-bank-of-pakistan","18":"cat-15016-id"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>SBP: human oversight key in loan approvals - Zameen News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"SBP Governor Jameel Ahmad stresses that human oversight must remain central in loan approvals and customer due diligence, ensuring.....\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.zameen.com\/news\/sbp-human-oversight-key-loan-approvals.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SBP: human oversight key in loan approvals - Zameen News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"SBP Governor Jameel Ahmad stresses that human oversight must remain central in loan approvals and customer due diligence, ensuring.....\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.zameen.com\/news\/sbp-human-oversight-key-loan-approvals.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pakistan Real Estate News &amp; 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