State Bank of Pakistan vide BSD circular no. 7 dated August 15, 2003 has instructed that all Banks/DFIs should have in place contingency and business continuity plans to ensure their ability to operate as going concerns and minimize losses in the event of severe business disruption. State Bank had also issued guidelines vide BSD Circular no. 13 and BSD Circular no. 03 dated September 04, 2004 and April 04, 2007 respectively wherein minimum requirements were stipulated to facilitate the Banks/DFIS in building or improving upon their Business Continuity Planning (BCP)..

In order to assess the readiness of treasuries of Banks/DFIs/PDs to run the business without any interruption in case of any business disruption, all Banks/DFIs/PDs are advised to submit the following information:

1. Details of BCP arrangements for treasury activities in terms of guidelines provided in aforementioned circulars.

2. Frequency and types of BCP testing conducted by the Bank/DFI/PD.

3. Detail of BCP testing (Tabletop/Desktop or Mock Exercise etc) during the period from July-December 2013. The details should also include results of the exercise.

4. Detail of instances where BCP was required to be activated in a live situation and its results whether it was completely successful or not. If not, please explain the steps taken to improve BCP.

The aforesaid information must reach this Department before the close of business on January 31, 2014.