KARACHI: Banking sector has remained in sound and stable state during the third quarter of calendar year 2016.
The solvency profile of the banking sector has strengthened as Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) has improved to 16.8 percent, while profit after tax has stood at Rs138.9 billion for the first nine months of CY2016, said State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in its Quarterly Performance Review (QPR) of the banking sector for the quarter ended September 30, 2016, (Q3CY16) released on Wednesday.
The report highlights that the asset base of the banking sector has registered a decrease of 1.6 percent. The reviewed quarter is marked with seasonal decline in gross advances by 2.3 percent on account of net retirement by private sector and commodity operation financing.
Textile, sugar, cement, agribusiness, chemical and pharmaceutical sectors have observed net retirement, while production and transmission of energy sector has revealed positive financing demand. Banks’ investments have fallen by 2.5 percent during Q3CY16.
Deposits of the banking sector, after observing some deceleration in recent past, have inched up by 0.6 percent which is in contrast to fall of deposits usually seen in the third quarter of a calendar year.
The rise in deposits is due to lower decline in current deposits and higher growth in saving and fixed deposits.
