Pakistan banks add up to 6% fee on large month-end deposits

November 19, 2024 (MLN): Several Pakistani commercial banks have begun imposing a fee on large month-end deposits in an effort to improve their Advance-to-Deposit Ratio (ADR) and potentially avoid the ADR tax imposed by regulatory authorities.

After Bank Alfalah Limited imposed a 5% fee on month-end balances exceeding Rs5 billion, certain other banks have notified amendments to their existing schedule of bank charges.

MCB Bank Limited (MCB) has announced a monthly fee of 5% on balances of Rs3bn or above, effective from December 21, 2024.

Similarly, the Bank of Punjab (BOP) has set the same fee for balances of Rs3bn or more, effective from December 20, 2024.

Meanwhile, Habib Bank Limited (HBL) has imposed a monthly fee of 6% on all checking accounts with a balance of Rs5bn and above on the last day of the month.

The bank also introduced a 3% fee to be applicable in case of foreign exchange or equivalent balance.

By implementing this fee, these banks are likely seeking more stable, long-term deposits rather than temporary inflows that only serve to meet month-end regulatory metrics.

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