More Banks Slap Monthly Fee on High Value Accounts

Habib Bank Limited and The Bank of Punjab have now imposed monthly fees on high-value accounts. Habib Bank has imposed a 6 percent monthly fee on checking accounts with month’s last day balances of Rs. 5 billion and above (or equivalent in case of FCY). Meanwhile, a flat fee of 3 percent will be charged on foreign currency accounts. The Bank of Punjab has imposed a flat monthly fee of 5 percent on all conventional Savings Accounts with balances of Rs. 3 billion and above (or equivalent in case of FCY) as of the last day of the month. The change has been updated in the banks’ existing schedule of charges for the period July-December 2024. The charges are applicable from December 20th. This is in response to the federal government’s hefty 16 percent tax on banks with an Advance-to-Deposit Ratio of less than 50 percent. Banks are looking to avoid paying the big ADR tax and could go to any legal lengths seeking cover. Bank Alfalah Limited last week first imposed a 5 percent monthly fee on all checking accounts.