3rd Highest Share of Deposits in Pakistani Banks Belongs to Unemployed Housewives & Students

Pakistani banks have amounts worth more than Rs. 2 trillion in their accounts which belong to housewives and students.

According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the overall deposits maintained by all commercial banks in their accounts stand at Rs. 13 trillion. Deposits maintained of self-employed account holders record the highest share of Rs. 2.85 trillion in the banking industry. It is followed by the private sector (mostly companies) with a share of Rs. 2.79 trillion.

Interestingly, the segment of customers including housewives and students constitutes the third biggest share in the deposits of the overall banking sector of Pakistan.

The deposits of housewives and students are more than the deposits of the federal and provincial government, which kept Rs. 1.95 trillion in different banks. Even manufacturing and agriculture sectors had deposits of just Rs. 782 billion and Rs. 216 billion respectively in different banks, fairly lower than what housewives and students of the country.

Housewives Accounts, Husband’s Money

The reality is these bank accounts are opened in the name of housewives and students by their husbands and parents, simply for the purpose of concealing their bank balance from tax authorities, claims a senior banker.

Housewives and students do not maintain these accounts for their genuine needs but accounts under this category are used to conceal the bank balance of the people to whom these account holders are financially dependent upon.

Businessmen, retailers, and wholesalers usually maintain these sort of accounts showing the ownership of their spouses and children, he added while requesting anonymity.

The practice of maintaining such accounts is common but new rules and regulations are strict which has slightly slowed down the rise of such accounts, he further said, though banks can’t technically regulate these accounts.

The documentation of these customers is different from regular customers at banks because opening such accounts requires additional and different documentation, including CNICs of husband or guardians and their pay-slip as a source of income, and declaration certificates.

However, there are genuine accounts too, mainly maintained by housewives to receive remittances from overseas. Similarly, students also receive amounts from their parents within the country or outside the country in their bank accounts. There are also saving products and features offered by various banks such as term-deposits certificates beside saving and current accounts.

FBR Efforts To Access Banks Accounts

Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has made efforts to get unrestricted access to bank accounts but have not been provided access by banks which are bound to maintain the confidentiality of their customers as per secrecy law.

However, the revenue collection authority and intelligence department are provided access to individual accounts under special cases.

Recently, FBR’s Chief Shabbar Zaidi met with bank executives and asked to write letters to account holders having deposits of half million or more instructing them to whiten their assets under the recent amnesty scheme.

But the FBR’s demand was apparently turned down. Instead, it was allowed for FBR to examine the bank accounts of customers having deposits of Rs. 0.5 million as per law. In this scenario, hundreds of such accounts are likely to come under the radar of FBR without any proof of income. The customers can be penalized or they will be asked to pay tax in terms of a certain percentage.


  • Amounts in House wives accounts are kept to meet emergency situations….

    Also savings are kept in house wives accounts as men tend to spend savings lavishly where as women are good at saving and keeping the money for future needs

    Aflatoons in FBR and other economic wizards etc are trying to deter every segment of society…

    Result will be massive with drawl from Banks

  • wrong one sided Assessment. It will be very stupid to keep money in bank to avoid tax. people to do so to save money and for emergency purposes. There is proper trail of these transfers from authentic accounts. FBR should evaluate complete situation before making claims and putting citizens in unnecessary stress.

  • This isn’t surprising theses people hide money and take from other in ways that care sickening

  • I think people would withdraw there savings and invest in some other sources as maximum accounts are savings account on which people get interest from bank.

  • ProPakistani has stolen the image on this article from 123rf.com without paying…. you guys should be ashamed as you are making millions a month and even then not paying $1 for artist that has uploaded this photo for sale on 123rf. Chori Lakh di tay chori kakh di ik barabar.

  • That means Pakistanis don’t want to pay tax, however they have earned the money.
    They don’t want to pay tax for their country? For the betterment of the country.
    The banks also want to protect such account holders.
    I fact the bankers use to suggest people that how can they skip themselves from paying tax.
    And if people will with draw their amounts, there will be a bank record of their transactions. No body can escape, u till the bank wants to.

    • Pakistani nation pay huge indirect tax already without any facilities from government

  • ‘0.5 million’
    How this threshold be checked? It that monthly or yearly level of income?

  • what a big space shuttle being designed by heroes of FBR, y do these Aflatoons have been receiving extra bonuses after every budget????????
    let the people come in your platform with their own will, facilitate people wisely instead of teasing them

  • what facility is provided to salaried individual, their tax is deducted before transfer of amount in respective account. when tax is being deducted at source then person should be sent a thanks letter for paying a handsome amount of tax, instead of receiving a love letter stating, (action will be taken against you as per rule this as per section that, this rule and that rule).
    How many taxes needed, get our blood and sale it out in open market against Rayals, Dinars, Pounds and Dollars
    but plz for sake of Allah let’s live in a peaceful way
    we pathetic 22crore can’t control polio in this technology era while African countries are being declared as polio free.


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