Check Who Holds Pakistan's Rs 39.9 Trillion of Bank Deposits: Individuals Hold Rs 18.4 Trillion, Government Rs 6.1 Trillion

Short answer: Pakistan's banks held Rs 39,939 billion of customer deposits at the end of September 2026, and individuals held Rs 18,351 billion of it, or 46 per cent, according to the State Bank of Pakistan's table of deposits by category of holder released on 13 October 2026. Self employed people hold Rs 8,441 billion, more than salaried people's Rs 5,282 billion. Governments hold Rs 6,131 billion and private businesses Rs 7,874 billion.

The table is "Deposits Distributed by Category of Deposit Holders", a monthly sheet on SBP's economic data page. We read the end September 2026 provisional version on 19 October 2026. It answers a question the headline deposit number never does: whose money is it.

Individuals hold Rs 18.4 trillion, nearly half of all bank deposits

Personal deposits of residents were Rs 18,350,589 million at end September 2026, which is 45.9 per cent of the Rs 39,939,386 million total. Add the Rs 1,322,878 million held by non resident individuals and people hold Rs 19,673 billion, 49.3 per cent of every rupee in the banks.

The shares are our arithmetic from SBP's figures. The table counts deposits by who owns them, so a company's current account is "business" and a provincial government's development fund is "government", however large or small the individual accounts.

Self employed depositors hold Rs 8.4 trillion, more than salaried people's Rs 5.3 trillion

SBP splits personal deposits three ways: salaried persons Rs 5,281,627 million, self employed Rs 8,440,948 million and other personal Rs 4,628,014 million. The self employed, which covers traders, professionals and anyone whose income is not a salary, hold 46 per cent of personal deposits; salaried people hold 29 per cent and "other" 25 per cent.

That split is worth remembering when banks talk about the salaried class as their core customer. By money held, the self employed are bigger. The "other personal" group is likely to include pensioners, housewives and dependants whose accounts are not tagged to an occupation, though SBP's table does not define it.

These are the deposits that earn the minimum profit rate SBP requires on savings accounts of individuals, which is why the savings account rates for October 2026 matter to a Rs 18 trillion pool, and why the move of some of it into fixed deposits or National Savings shifts bank funding costs.

Governments keep Rs 6.1 trillion in banks and public enterprises another Rs 2.4 trillion

The federal government held Rs 3,763,851 million and provincial governments Rs 2,366,761 million at end September 2026, Rs 6,130,613 million together. Non financial public sector enterprises held a further Rs 2,415,151 million, and non bank financial institutions such as insurers and funds Rs 2,459,774 million.

The government line is the one that moves with the fiscal calendar. Provincial balances swell after federal transfers and drain as budgets are spent. Together with public enterprises, the state holds Rs 8.5 trillion, or 21 per cent of deposits, and that money is also what banks lend back to the state through treasury bills.

Private businesses hold Rs 7,874,140 million. Manufacturing leads with Rs 2,019,588 million, then wholesale and retail trade at Rs 1,647,435 million, electricity and gas at Rs 918,507 million, other services at Rs 521,940 million, information and communication at Rs 477,799 million and construction at Rs 453,678 million. Agriculture holds just Rs 181,121 million, 2.3 per cent of business deposits.

Non residents hold Rs 1.7 trillion, and most of it is individuals

Non resident deposits were Rs 1,690,613 million at end September 2026: Rs 1,322,878 million personal, Rs 228,787 million business and Rs 138,948 million official. Non resident individuals therefore hold 78 per cent of the non resident total, and about 4.2 per cent of all deposits in the system belong to people and entities abroad.

The personal non resident line is where Roshan Digital Account balances sit, alongside older non resident rupee and foreign currency accounts. SBP's separate RDA statistics, covered in our report on Roshan Digital Accounts in September 2026, count funds received since 2020 rather than balances held, so the two figures are not meant to match.

Every one of these deposits, resident or not, is covered by the Deposit Protection Corporation up to its limit per depositor per bank, as explained in how bank deposit protection works in Pakistan.

This table and SBP's banking review count deposits differently, so the totals differ

SBP's mid year banking review put bank deposits at Rs 43,332 billion at end June 2026, while this holder table shows Rs 39,939 billion at end September. The two are different SBP series with different coverage: the holder table counts deposits by owner category, and the banking review total comes from banks' balance sheets. SBP's pages do not explain the gap, and we do not guess at it.

1. Open SBP's economic data page and find "Deposits Distributed by Category of Deposit Holders" in the monthly list.
2. Download the PDF. The first block is non resident deposits, the second is resident deposits in seven groups.
3. Read section VI, Personal, for the salaried, self employed and other split.
4. Read section I for federal and provincial government balances, and IV for business deposits by industry.
5. Use the total at the foot, Rs 39,939,386 million for September 2026, and note the P for provisional.

We could not reconcile the two totals line by line from the published pages, so treat them as two measures rather than one number that changed by Rs 3.4 trillion in a quarter. The banking review is in our report on SBP's mid year banking review.

Common questions about who holds Pakistan's bank deposits

How much money is in Pakistani banks?

Rs 39,939 billion of customer deposits at end September 2026, provisional, per SBP's deposits by holder table released 13 October 2026. SBP's banking review uses a broader balance sheet measure that gave Rs 43,332 billion at end June.

How much of it belongs to individuals?

Rs 18,351 billion held by residents, 45.9 per cent of the total, plus Rs 1,323 billion held by non resident individuals.

Do salaried people hold most personal deposits?

No. Self employed depositors hold Rs 8,441 billion against Rs 5,282 billion for salaried persons and Rs 4,628 billion for other individuals.

How much does the government keep in banks?

Rs 6,131 billion: Rs 3,764 billion federal and Rs 2,367 billion provincial. Public sector enterprises hold another Rs 2,415 billion.

Which industry holds the most business deposits?

Manufacturing, at Rs 2,020 billion, followed by wholesale and retail trade at Rs 1,647 billion and electricity and gas at Rs 919 billion.

How often is the table updated?

Monthly, on SBP's economic data page. The September 2026 version was dated 13 October 2026.

How we verified this

What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.

Last checked 19 October 2026. All figures are from the State Bank of Pakistan's table "Deposit Distributed by Category of Deposit Holders", as on end September 2026, provisional, downloaded as a PDF from SBP's economic data page, where it is dated 13 October 2026. Shares and the salaried, self employed and other percentages are our own arithmetic. The Rs 43,332 billion June figure is from SBP's mid year banking review as reported on our linked page. We could not verify the definition of "other personal" or reconcile the holder table with the banking review total, because SBP's pages do not explain the difference.