Low interest rate on forex accounts

I have maintained foreign cur­rency accounts with Habib Bank Pakistan for over 20 years. I want to highlight that HBL is cur­rently offering an interest rate of around 1% on my Pound Ster­ling and US Dollar accounts. In contrast, the international mar­ket offers an interest rate of ap­proximately 4.5% for Pound Ster­ling and US Dollars. I am puzzled by why banks in Pakistan are of­fering such low interest rates on forex accounts. Is it possible that the banks are making significant profits by maintaining large in­terest margins?

I suggest that the State Bank of Pakistan examine this matter and ensure that forex depositors re­ceive market-based interest rates on their forex bank accounts.

EJAZ AHMAD MAGOON

DUBAI