Deposit protection corporation act

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) For Depositors
Disclaimer: These FAQs are being issued for information and general understanding only and shall not constitute any legal obligation on the part of Deposit Protection Corporation (DPC). These FAQs are subject to updates from time to time by the DPC. The Deposit Protection Corporation Act, 2016, rules and regulations issued thereunder shall be applicable on all the member institutions.

Deposit Protection is a system established to protect the deposits of eligible depositors up to a specified limit in the event of a bank being declared as a failed bank by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

Deposit Protection Corporation (DPC) is a subsidiary of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) established under the Deposit Protection Corporation Act, 2016. The role of the Corporation is to provide a robust deposit protection mechanism to ensure payment of protected amount to the eligible depositors of a DPC member bank, in the event of it being declared as a failed bank by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

Presently, a protected amount of up to PKR 500,000/- per depositor per bank has been determined by DPC for the protection of eligible depositors.

Deposit Protection will provide prompt access to the guaranteed amount i.e. up to PKR 500,000/- to the eligible depositors of a bank declared as failed by State Bank of Pakistan.

Following type of accounts of eligible depositors are protected by DPC:

DPC does not provide protection to depositors of overseas branches of Pakistani banks and branches located in Export Processing Zones (EPZ) across Pakistan.

Yes, Nationality/ residential status of a depositor does not affect the eligibility of a depositor for deposit protection. However, the bank should be a member institution of DPC. This can be verified from the list of banks available in FAQ#5. The list of member banks is also available on the DPC website at http://www.dpc.org.pk/Circulars/2020/CL1-Annex-A.pdf

No, all eligible depositors of member banks of DPC shall automatically stand qualified for deposit protection.

Yes, each eligible depositor of a joint account enjoys separate protection by DPC. However, any pre-defined share or proportionate share of each depositor in a joint account shall add up to his/ her other deposit balances in the same bank for the purpose of calculating the protected amount for reimbursement to that depositor.

No, the maximum protected deposit currently prescribed by DPC is PKR 500,000/-. Depositor may claim for the unprotected portion of their deposits from the official liquidator.

No, DPC provides a total coverage of up to PKR 500,000/- to each eligible depositor against all of his/her conventional & Islamic deposits, held in the same bank.

Yes, a single depositor can receive a protection of up to PKR 500,000/- against all his/ her deposits maintained with each member bank. However, maximum protection is capped at PKR 500,000/- for all accounts in one bank based on 'per depositor per bank principle'.

The protected amount shall be reimbursed to eligible depositors in Pak Rupees. Foreign currency deposits shall also be reimbursed in equivalent Pak Rupees on the conversion rates declared by SBP for this purpose.

No, banks are not allowed to recover any cost associated with deposit protection from their depositors.

No, DPC will not pay any further interest or profit on the total claim of the depositor on a failed member bank.

The issues related to instruments in transit that are not settled/ cleared on the date of bank failure shall be addressed during liquidation process. DPC would make payment to eligible depositors based on the outstanding balance(s) available in their deposit account(s) on the date of bank failure as declared by State Bank of Pakistan.

DPC does not provide separate protection to persons having accounts as an individual and a Sole Proprietor in the same bank. The calculation of protected amount for such depositors is depicted below:

Depositor Category No. of Accounts Deposits
(In PKR)
Protected Amount
(In PKR)
Mr. XYZ Khan Individual 1 200,000 ---
Mr. XYZ Khan Sole Proprietor 1 340,000 ---
Total ------ 2 540,000 500,000

The protected amount would be assessed against all deposits of a single depositor held with a failed bank on the date of notification by the State Bank of Pakistan.

The following table clarifies the process of evaluating guaranteed amount for different categories of depositors:

Depositor Category No. of Accounts* in Same Bank Total Deposits
(In PKR)
Protected Amount
(In PKR)
Mr. XYZ Khan Individual and Sole Proprietor 3 600,000 500,000
Ms. ABC Bibi Individual 1 300,000 300,000
Mr. RAZ Sole Proprietor 4 1,000,000 500,000
ABC Consultancy Ltd Partnership Firm 2 700,000 500,000
WBC Builders Partnership Firm 3 1,500,000 500,000
MNP Fitness Club Sole Proprietor 6 1,000,000 500,000
SINCOS Foundation Trust 1 200,000 200,000
TANG-ONN Other
( Adventure Club)
1 100,000 100,000

*represents either conventional or Islamic or both type of accounts held by a single depositor

After the issuance of notification by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the Corporation (DPC) shall inform general public through leading newspapers having wide circulation in the country. The information shall include the date after which depositors will receive protected amount from the Corporation and the procedure for payments.

Deposit balances of all eligible depositors shall be validated on the basis of a comprehensive depositor's database reported by the failed member institution (bank).

DPC shall begin the process of reimbursement to eligible depositors as early as possible after the issuance of failure notification of a member institution by SBP. DPC shall ensure payments to most of the protected depositors are made or tendered within seven working days and that all payments are made or tendered within thirty days at the latest, provided that there is no legal dispute on the deposit or accounts in question.

Your deposits up to the guarantee amount shall continue to be protected separately for a period of one year or full withdrawal or until maturity of the deposits, whichever occurs earlier, from the effective date of merger.

Yes. However, the legal heirs will be required to prove their right to claim the guaranteed amount by acquiring all necessary documents as per the applicable laws.

You may visit our website http://www.dpc.org.pk to access further details on deposit protection in Pakistan. You may also write to us electronically at [email protected] or through surface mail at the following address:

DEPOSIT PROTECTION CORPORATION
(A Subsidiary of State Bank of Pakistan)
2nd Floor, SBP Bolton Market Building,
M.A. Jinnah Road, Karachi.