The deposits of the commercial banks have witnessed staggering inflows of over Rs. 3 trillion merely in one year because of the higher profit rates being offered to depositors through saving accounts and term deposit certificates.
According to the data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the banking industry’s deposits surged to Rs. 23.42 trillion by April 2023 as compared to Rs. 20.05 trillion stood by the end of April 2022, a growth of over Rs. 3.3 trillion or 16.8 percent year-on-year.
The increasing interest since April 2022 also pushed up the minimum deposits or saving rates of commercial banks, hence customers also prefer to make their investments in liquid assets.
The policy rates consistently increased from 12.25 percent to 21 percent during the period of April 2022 to April 2023, which also jacked up the deposit or saving rate to 19.5 percent
