Pakistan Central Bank’s 1.932 Trillion Rupee Profit Transfer Exceeds Fiscal-Year Projection

Key Facts

Pakistan’s central bank transferred 1.932 trillion rupees to the federal government as non-tax revenue, The News International reported on November 13, 2026, citing Finance Ministry officials. The transfer represents a surplus earned during FY2025-26, but is included in the government’s revenue accounts for FY2026-27. The amount is about 500 billion rupees above the budget projection for central bank profit revenue, which stood at 1.435 trillion rupees. This gives the treasury a non-tax revenue source above the estimate set for this item in the current fiscal year. The announcement comes as non-tax revenue is monitored as part of the federal government’s total resources.

The newspaper said the previous fiscal year’s surplus was transferred to the Finance Ministry at the start of the new fiscal year, following amendments to the central bank law approved by parliament. This timing separates the period in which the profit was earned from the period in which it is recorded as government revenue: the transfer is linked to the bank’s performance in FY2025-26, while it appears in revenue accounts during FY2026-27. The amount therefore does not represent profits all earned in the first months of the current fiscal year, but a settlement of the surplus from the completed fiscal period. With this distinction, recorded revenue this year exceeds the annual projection for central bank profits. The News International cited this explanation in its report on the transfer.

Data for the previous year show that the central bank transferred 2.619 trillion rupees to the Finance Ministry as non-tax revenue during FY2025-26, against an initial budget estimate of 2.4 trillion rupees. That places the 1.932 trillion rupee transfer announced in November in the context of financial flows from the bank to the government across successive fiscal periods, with each figure differing in amount and the period it covers. In the current fiscal year, the federation collected 2.36 trillion rupees in non-tax revenue in the first two months, compared with an annual target of 5.33 trillion rupees. The two-month total includes the announced central bank transfer, according to the report. These figures highlight the weight of non-tax revenue in financing the budget, alongside taxes.

The central bank was the largest contributor to non-tax revenue in the first two months of FY2026-27, with a contribution of 1.932 trillion rupees, the newspaper reported. Fuel levy revenue ranked second, at 220.2 billion rupees over the same period. The gap shows that the bank’s transfer far exceeded the second-largest item in this category, while total non-tax revenue stood at 2.36 trillion rupees. These figures combine the bank’s surplus transfer with other sources, such as the fuel levy, in total government revenue. The annual target for this revenue is 5.33 trillion rupees, according to the budget.

The bank’s financial statements show a decline in net profit in the year in which the transferred surplus was generated. The central bank’s net profit fell 20% to 1.99 trillion rupees in FY2025-26, from 2.499 trillion rupees in FY2024-25, according to a report by Profit Pakistan Today based on the financial statements. Income from discounts, interest and returns on financial assets also fell to 2.037 trillion rupees from 2.801 trillion rupees the previous year, a decline of 764 billion rupees. Net profit differs from the surplus transferred to the government: the report said the 1.932 trillion rupee transfer followed the calculation of provisions required under accounting frameworks and legal requirements. The transfer figure therefore shows what was passed to the government after those deductions, rather than the bank’s total net profit.

Profit Pakistan Today linked the decline in the bank’s income to monetary easing, noting that the benchmark interest rate had fallen from a peak of 22% to 11.5% when the report was published on August 28, 2026. This context accompanies the decline in the bank’s income from financial assets between FY2024-25 and FY2025-26, while the statements recorded lower net profit in the latest fiscal year. In an earlier medium-term strategy document, the Finance Ministry kept its estimate for bank profits at 1% of gross domestic product, equivalent to 1.242 trillion rupees for FY2026-27. That estimate differs from the budget projection of 1.435 trillion rupees cited in coverage of the transfer. The unconsolidated financial statements and auditors’ report were also sent to the federal government and the Council of Common Interests under Section 40(3) of the State Bank Act, 1956.