Banking in Pakistan Banking in Pakistan Banking in Pakistan first formally started in Pakistan during the period of British colonialism in the South Asia. After independence from British Raj in 1947, and the emergence of Pakistan as a country in the globe, the scope of banking in Pakistan has been increasing and expanding continuously. Pakistan's oldest bank is the State Bank of Pakistan, which is also the central bank of the nation. Before independence on August 14, 1947, the Reserve Bank of India was the central bank of what is now Pakistan. After independence, Muhammad Ali Jinnah took actions to establish a central
Reserve Bank of India country. The Central Office of the RBI was established in Calcutta (now Kolkata) but was moved to Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1937. The RBI also acted as Burma's (now Myanmar) central bank until April 1947 (except during the years of Japanese occupation (1942–45)), even though Burma seceded from the Indian Union in 1937. After the Partition of India in August 1947, the bank served as the central bank for Pakistan until June 1948 when the State Bank of Pakistan commenced operations. Though set up as a shareholders’ bank, the RBI has been fully owned by the Government of India since