*  *  *  Dr. Muhammad Yasin, Chairman Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, Mr. Ali Arshad Hakeem, Chairman NADRA, Mr. Haroon Sharif, Regional Advisor DFID, Distinguished Speakers, Ladies and Gentlemen, 1. On behalf of SBP, may I extend a very warm welcome to all, to Pakistan’s Branchless Banking Conference 2010.
Today’s forum has participants from diverse backgrounds, from the banking, microfinance, and telecommunication sectors, as well as donors and government agencies, setting the stage for a creative and fruitful working session. 2. There are about 4 billion unbanked people 1 in the world, which is more than twothirds of the population of low and middle-income countries.