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 1,000,000/- 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 1,000,000/- to the eligible depositors of a bank declared as failed by State Bank of Pakistan.

Updated Web link to access the list of institute is required. Moreover, the list of member banks provided under this question needs to be updated.

Presently all scheduled banks operating in Pakistan are members of DPC. Following is the list of banks that are members of DPC. This list is also available at DPC's website: https://dpc.org.pk/Circulars/2024/UpdatedList-DPCMember%20Institutions.pdf

  1. SME Bank Limited
  2. The Punjab Provincial Cooperative Bank Limited
  3. Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited
  4. First Women Bank Limited
  5. National Bank of Pakistan
  6. Sindh Bank Limited
  7. The Bank of Khyber
  8. The Bank of Punjab
  9. Allied Bank Limited
  10. Askari Bank Limited
  11. Bank Alfalah Limited
  12. Bank AL Habib Limited
  13. Faysal Bank Limited
  14. Habib Bank Limited
  15. Habib Metropolitan Bank Limited
  16. JS Bank Limited
  17. MCB Bank Limited
  18. SAMBA Bank Limited
  19. Silkbank Limited
  20. Soneri Bank Limited
  21. Standard Chartered Bank (Pakistan) Limited
  22. Summit Bank Limited
  23. United Bank Limited
  24. Albaraka Bank (Pakistan) Limited
  25. Bank Islami Pakistan Limited
  26. Dubai Islamic Bank Pakistan Limited
  27. Meezan Bank Limited
  28. MCB Islamic Bank Limited
  29. Citibank N.A.- Pakistan Operations
  30. Deutsche Bank AG- Pakistan Operations
  31. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited- Pakistan Branches
  32. Bank of China Limited- Pakistan Operations

Presently all scheduled banks operating in Pakistan are members of DPC. Following is the list of banks that are members of DPC. This list is also available at DPC's website: http://www.dpc.org.pk/Circulars/2020/CL1-Annex-A.pdf

Specialized Banks
           1. SME Bank Limited
           2. The Punjab Provincial Cooperative Bank Limited
           3. Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited

Commercial Banks
           4. First Women Bank Limited
           5. National Bank of Pakistan
           6. Sindh Bank Limited
           7. The Bank of Khyber
           8. The Bank of Punjab
           9. Allied Bank Limited
           10. Askari Bank Limited
           11. Bank Alfalah Limited
           12. Bank AL Habib Limited
           13. Faysal Bank Limited
           14. Habib Bank Limited
           15. Habib Metropolitan Bank Limited
           16. JS Bank Limited
           17. MCB Bank Limited
           18. SAMBA Bank Limited
           19. Silkbank Limited
           20. Soneri Bank Limited
           21. Standard Chartered Bank (Pakistan) Limited
           22. Bank Makramah Limited
           23. United Bank Limited
           24. Albaraka Bank (Pakistan) Limited
           25. BankIslami Pakistan Limited
           26. Dubai Islamic Bank Pakistan Limited
           27. Meezan Bank Limited
           28. MCB Islamic Bank Limited
           29. Citibank N.A.- Pakistan Operations
           30. Deutsche Bank AG- Pakistan Operations
           31. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited- Pakistan Branches
           32. Bank of China Limited- Pakistan Operations

Your deposit is eligible for protection, if it does not belong to any of the following categories:
1. Depositors / deposits mentioned in the list below;
    i- Government or Government Institutions.
    ii- Member institutions of DPC.
    iii- Companies as defined under Companies Ordinance, 1984/ Companies Act 2017
    iv- Corporations, Modarbas, Mutual Funds
    v- Branch(es)/ Permanent establishment(s) of foreign entities
    vi- Diplomatic Missions and international organizations/ entities like United Nations, World Bank, IFC, ADB etc.
    vii- Autonomous Bodies
    viii- Deposits on which preferential interest or return has been granted
    ix- Members of Board of Directors and senior management of a DPC member bank
    x- Partners of auditing firm responsible to certify DPC member bank financial statements
    xi- Persons acquired rights to a deposit after State Bank of Pakistan's notification of Bank failure under DPC Act 2016
    xii- Spouses, dependent lineal ascendants and descendants and dependent brothers and sisters of the persons specified at sr. no ix, x & xi above.
    xiii- Deposits arising out of or related to transactions or actions constituting 'money laundering within the meaning of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010, if the offender has been convicted of such offence
2. Amounts reported under unclaimed deposits by a member bank in compliance of section 31 of Banking Companies Ordinance 1962.

3. Deposits maintained at branches and subsidiaries of Pakistani banks operating outside Pakistan and branches located in Export Processing Zones (EPZ).
Following type of accounts of eligible depositors are protected by DPC:

    1- All current and saving accounts including Roshan Digital Accounts (RDA).
    2- All type of branchless banking accounts
    3- Fixed term deposits
    4- Call Deposit Receipts (CDR)/ Security Deposit Receipts (SDR)
    5- Deposit balance kept as cash margins/ collateral or under lien, that are payable to depositors after
        satisfaction of all dues that are payable by them to the bank.
    6- Foreign currency deposits. However, equivalent PKR on the exchange rate declared by SBP on
        notification date shall be reimbursed.
    7- Profit on any of the above deposits accrued till cut-off date.
    8- Any other type of deposits communicated by DPC from time to time.
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 https://dpc.org.pk/Circulars/2024/UpdatedList-DPCMember Institutions.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 1,000,000/-.
Depositor may claim for the unprotected portion of their deposits from the official liquidator.
No, DPC provides a total coverage of up to PKR 1,000,000/- 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 1,000,000/- against all his/ her deposits maintained with each member bank. However, maximum protection is capped at PKR 1,000,000/- 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
400,000
---
Mr. XYZ Khan
Sole Proprietor
1
680,000
---
Total
------
2
1,080,000
1,000,000
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
600,000
Ms. ABC Bibi
Individual
1
300,000
300,000
Mr. RAZ
Sole Proprietor
4
1,000,000
1,000,000
ABC Consultancy Ltd
Partnership Firm
2
700,000
700,000
WBC Builders
Partnership Firm
3
1,500,000
1,000,000
MNP Fitness Club
Sole Proprietor
6
1,000,000
1,000,000
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.