The Pakistani banking sector deposits continued to show healthy growth during the pandemic, as the total deposits held by commercial banks clocked in at Rs17.25 trillion in February 2021, depicting a growth of 17 per cent MoM.
The government remained the single largest borrower from commercial banks and depositor as well during the pandemic.
At the same time, banks’ lending to the private sector slightly improved with a partial revival in economic activities. However, growth in lending to the private sector remained slow compared to the ones in deposits and investment in government papers.
Banks’ investment in government debt securities soared 33pc in one year to Rs11.61 trillion in the month under review compared to Rs8.72 trillion in the corresponding month of the previous year.
Further, lending to the private sector enhanced just around 4pc to Rs8.53 trillion in the month compared to Rs8.21 trillion in February 2020.
