Pakistani banks charging up to 28.9% on individual loans

Pakistani citizens still paying higher interest rates on individual loans while the State Bank of Pakistan keeping the interest rate historical low at 5.75%. But some banks are making huge money from the individual loans for charging nearly five times more than the official rates. Silk Bank is charging 28.9% interest rates from the individual loans. Standard Chartered Bank charging 21.9% interest rate. The United Bank Limited (UBL) is still charging around 20%. The other larger banks including public sector bank National Bank, MCB and HBL are charging between 13 to 14% rates.

The Habib Metropolitan Bank Limited and Bank of Punjab is offering the cheapest individual loans in the country. Habib Metropolitan is charging 7.7% and Bank of Punjab is charging 9.66% on individual loans. This information was provided by the ministry of finance in the National Assembly. It seems that some commercial banks are not transferring the benefits of low interest rates to its customers. The State Bank should intervene to ratify the situation and stop the banks from exploiting its customers.