KARACHI, Pakistan: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has said that certain sections of the media, on the basis of a statement given by the Deputy Governor of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Dr. Inayat Hussain during the meeting of Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue, are implying as if bank deposits above Rs 500,000 in the banking system in Pakistan are unsafe.
In a statement on Thursday, the State Bank has categorically stated that the deposits are safe owing to a sound banking system in Pakistan under a robust regulatory and supervisory framework of the SBP.
The Central Bank said that the banking system in Pakistan is adequately capitalized, highly liquid and profitable with a low level of net non-performing loans, i.e. bad loans. The sector posted a strong profitability of Rs 284 billion in first half of CY23 which is almost 125% higher than the first half of CY22. The higher earnings, in turn, also strengthened the capital of banks and the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of the banking sector increased to 17.8% by end June 2023 compared to 16.1% as of end June 2022, substantially higher than the SBP’s minimum regulatory requirement of 11.5% and international standard of 10.5%. With improvement in solvency buffers, the ability of the banking sector to withstand a set of severe shocks has further improved.
In addition to the soundness of the banking system, the Deposit Protection Corporation (DPC) has added another layer of protection by providing insurance cover of up to Rs 500,000 to every depositor. This is in line with the best international practices and global trends.
The SBP said that the deposit protection is one of the key elements of safety net used by supervisory authorities and deposit protection agencies around the world to provide protection to the depositors’ funds in the unlikely event of a bank failure.
It said that the amount insured by the DPC becomes immediately available to depositors in case a bank fails.
Nevertheless, remaining amounts of the deposits are also recoverable as the troubled bank is resolved through a regulatory assisted process. Currently, 94% of the depositors are fully protected under the Deposit Protection Act of 2016, the SBP maintained.
