Bank deposits hit Rs37.4trn mark

KARACHI: Deposits of the banking sector recorded a second highest growth of 23.6 percent during the last calendar year (CY25).

According to State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) overall, deposits of the commercial banks surged to Rs 37.431 trillion as of December 2025 compared to Rs 30.283 trillion a year earlier in December 2024, showing an increase of Rs 7.15 trillion in a year.

Analysts noted that this growth is driven by a significant increase in home remittances via formal channels, along with government efforts to digitalize the economy and broaden the tax base.

Month-on-month basis, the banking sector deposits also increased by 5.8 percent from Rs 35.38 trillion in November 2025 to Rs 37.431 trillion in December 2025.

However, the banking sector advances fell 7.1 percent to Rs14.88 trillion in December 2025 down from Rs 16.01 trillion in December 2024.

However, monthly data shows an increase of 10.9 percent in advances during December 2025 as against November 2025.

The Advance to Deposit Ratio (ADR) also dropped from 53 percent end of CY24 to 40 percent end of CY25. In contrast, investments of the banking sector mounted up by 30 percent to Rs37.91 trillion in December, with a modest month-on-month increase of 3.2 percent.

The investment-to-deposit ratio (IDR) increased to 101.3 percent in December from 96.2 percent a year ago.

Deposit growth remained strong in 2025, although the previous year was affected by taxes linked to the ADR. Analysts project that deposits are likely to expand by 10-15 percent this year (CY26).

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026