Banks attract fresh deposits of Rs690bn

KARACHI: Due to improved returns and increase in the policy rate, fresh deposits of Rs690 billion have been collected by the banks from January till July, according to the latest data of the State Bank of Pakistan.

The deposits of rupee have increased to Rs13.747 trillion.

By increasing the interest rates to 13.25% for more than a year, rupee deposits have been attractive, as the bankers claimed the long-term deposits are getting a 10-11% return though it.

On the other hand, short-term deposits yield about 8% or more on rupee deposits.

The dollar deposits in local banks yield around 1.5-2% per annum. According to the data released by the SBP, the dollar holdings of commercial banks have increased by $566 million to $7.294 billion from January-July 2019.

The report further revealed that the exchange rate has achieved stability for more than a month, which has reduced the demand for the dollar among investors.

The bankers have expressed satisfaction with the increase in deposits, and have been comfortable with investment in the government papers that offer over 14%.

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