The deposits of the scheduled banks rose by 13.2 percent during the first 10 months (January to October) of 2021, according to data recently issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
According to the central bank data, bank deposits saw an increase of Rs. 2.258 trillion since January in absolute terms, reaching Rs. 19.343 trillion by the end of October.
Similarly, bank investments grew by 21 percent during the same period. In absolute terms bank investments increased by Rs. 2.376 trillion since January, reaching Rs. 13.796 trillion by the end of October.
Against a sharp increase in investment, bank advances rose by Rs. 927 billion to Rs. 9.394 trillion, showing an increase of 11 percent.
The data also shows that despite the efforts by the central bank, banks have remained reluctant to offer funds to businesses and instead have made safe lending to the government.
The banking sector deposits rose by Rs. 3.204 trillion to hit an 18-year high of Rs. 17.876 trillion in 2020, representing a growth of 22 percent. Despite the significant jump in deposits, the banks failed to give an impetus to the economy as advances remained at merely 10 percent (amounting to Rs. 332 billion) of the deposits added during 2020.
