ICBC is offering Investor Portfolio Securities accounts (IPS) to its customers.

IPS Accounts are custodial accounts maintained for buying and holding Government Securities (T-Bills, PIBs,) on behalf of their customers.

The types of Government securities that customers can invest through IPS account are:

Treasury Bills (T-Bills)
Treasury bills are zero coupon instruments issued by the Government of Pakistan and sold through the SBP via fortnightly auctions. Salient features are:
●Issued in tenors of 3, 6 and 12 months;
●Denominated in multiples of PKR 5,000;
●A 15% withholding tax is deducted at source by SBP upon maturity for filer and 30% for non-filer;
●Negotiable instruments and have an active secondary market;
●Redemption of the face value upon maturity is guaranteed by Government of Pakistan.

Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs)
●PIBs are long-term bonds issued by the Government of Pakistan and sold through SBP via periodic auctions. Salient features are:
●Issued in fixed and floating rates
●Floating instrument available in 2,3,5 and 10 years with different structure
●Issued in fixed tenors of 3, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 30 years;
●Denominated in multiples of PKR 100,000;
●PIBs of different tenors bear different coupon rates which are payable semi-annually;
●A 15% withholding tax is deducted at source by SBP on the interim coupon payments made and 30% for non-filer;
●Negotiable instruments and are traded in the secondary market;
●Redemption of the face value upon maturity and periodic coupon payments are guaranteed by Government of Pakistan.

Key Benefits
●Accepted as collateral
●Highly liquid and tradable security in secondary market
●Easy Process of Investment: Local and Foreign investors can easily invest in the Government securities by opening an IPS account.