SECP Introduces Standard Bank Resolution Format

Islamabad, August 25, 2025, 07:47 PM PKT — The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has unveiled a transformative circular, prescribing a Standard Format of Board Resolution for companies opening corporate bank accounts under the Companies Act, 2017, aligning with its 7th Registrar Conference theme, “From Paper to Platform,” to drive standardization and digital transformation, as per official reports. Developed after extensive consultations with the Pakistan Banks’ Association and stakeholders, this move tackles delays, compliance queries, and verification issues from inconsistent documentation, particularly impacting start-ups and firms with foreign directors, thus boosting foreign direct investment (FDI).

The new format ensures uniform documentation, accelerates client onboarding, and enhances transparency with QR code-enabled digital verification, thwarting forgery and unauthorized changes, with electronically submitted, digitally signed resolutions by authorized officers. Financial institutions are urged to adopt this QR-enabled system post internal due diligence, promising faster verifications, improved compliance, and cost-time savings for companies and banks. SECP hails this as a reinforcement of regulatory oversight within a paperless, secure framework, advancing Pakistan’s ease of doing business. The format is downloadable on the SECP website. Web context on corporate reforms shows past inefficiencies, while posts found on X reflect optimism mixed with caution—some praise digitalization, others question adoption. Critically, the narrative of “reform progress” may mask implementation hurdles—web data hints at past delays, and X sentiment suggests distrust in smooth rollout, pointing to potential challenges.