The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has launched InvestPak, a digital investment platform designed to give retail investors direct access to government securities.
For decades, investment in the government’s debt instruments remained largely the domain of commercial banks, financial institutions and a limited number of institutional investors. Although retail participation was possible, cumbersome procedures, paperwork and limited awareness discouraged many potential savers. As a result, Pakistan’s domestic debt market developed with a narrow investor base, with successive governments relying heavily on commercial banks for domestic borrowing.
InvestPak seeks to change that. Available through both a web portal and mobile application, the platform enables investment in government securities through a fully digital process, with investments starting from as little as Rs5,000.
A unified dashboard allows users to link multiple rupee accounts and Investor Portfolio Securities (IPS) accounts across participating financial institutions. Investors can monitor their holdings through a single interface instead of dealing separately with multiple banks.
InvestPak represents an important step towards modernising Pakistan’s domestic debt market, but its success will depend upon awareness of its existence
The platform also provides daily benchmark yields, giving retail investors greater access to pricing information previously used mainly by institutional market participants. Eligible investors include all individuals and corporates with a Pakistani rupee bank account, who can register using their IBAN.
The launch is accompanied by an important regulatory adjustment. Effective August 1, 2026, SBP’s minimum profit-rate requirement on bank deposits will apply only to eligible individual depositors maintaining an average monthly balance of up to Rs10m. The change is expected to encourage corporations and high-net-worth investors to consider direct investment in government securities, while allowing commercial banks greater flexibility to focus resources on private-sector lending.
The timing of InvestPak’s launch is particularly significant given Pakistan’s fiscal challenges and commitments under the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Extended Fund Facility. The IMF’s latest assessment of Pakistan’s fiscal outlook underscores the importance of maintaining strict consolidation under the ongoing programme.
Fitch Ratings has noted that while Pakistan’s FY27 budget reflects a clear commitment to fiscal discipline, achieving the primary surplus target will depend on sustained revenue overperformance relative to historical trends — which it views as “challenging” given structural weaknesses in tax administration.
A significant part of the deficit target depends on securing a sizeable provincial cash surplus under the National Fiscal Pact, while the Federal Board of Revenue must deliver an ambitious tax collection target of Rs15.26 trillion. At the same time, the heavy debt-servicing burden continues to constrain fiscal space, with interest payments absorbing a substantial share of government revenues.
We did see last week how oil prices initially soared 5pc after fresh attacks on Iran by the US and Iran’s retaliatory attacks on US defence facilities in the Middle East. Therefore, while the fiscal framework reflects a clear commitment to consolidation, its success will ultimately depend on effective implementation, provincial coordination and sustained revenue mobilisation.
Against this backdrop, broadening the government’s funding base beyond commercial banks is not merely desirable but increasingly necessary. Pakistan’s domestic debt market has historically been dominated by the banking sector. As of June 30, 2025, total investment in government securities stood at Rs46.566 trillion, with scheduled banks holding Rs38.7 trillion (83pc) and non-bank entities holding the remainder.
By December 2025, overall investment in government papers had risen to Rs49.17 trillion, with banks holding Rs38.25tr. While non-bank holdings have grown significantly — reaching a record Rs11tr by end-December 2025, up from Rs327bn in 2009 — commercial banks continue to remain the largest investors.
The consequences of this concentrated model have been significant. Heavy government borrowing has frequently crowded out private-sector credit as banks found sovereign securities relatively safer and more attractive than lending to businesses.
The IMF has repeatedly highlighted concerns surrounding the sovereign-bank nexus, noting that banks’ holdings of domestic government debt have surged to around 60pc of their assets — more than three times the average for emerging market economies. By enabling households, professionals, retirees, corporations and other investors to purchase government securities directly, InvestPak addresses an important structural weakness.
If widely adopted, the platform could broaden the government’s funding base while creating greater room for banks to expand private-sector lending. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb noted at the launch that “as the investor base expands, banks will have greater space to focus on their core responsibility of lending to the private sector and supporting productive economic activity.”
However, the impact will depend on the scale of adoption. Technology alone cannot transform the structure of the debt market. Retail participation will require sustained public awareness, financial literacy, investor confidence and reliable service delivery by participating institutions.
SBP Governor Jameel Ahmad acknowledged this challenge, noting that “technology alone does not change behaviour; awareness does,” and announced a nationwide media campaign across print, social media and radio to promote the platform.
Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, July 13th, 2026