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Category: Money & Banking

Money and banking drive economic activity by facilitating transactions, savings, and investments. Banks manage financial resources, offer credit, and regulate money supply, ensuring stability and growth in Pakistan’s financial sector.

  • Rupee fails to maintain recovery; dollar gains to PKR 223.81

    Rupee fails to maintain recovery; dollar gains to PKR 223.81

    KARACHI: Pakistani Rupee (PKR) failed to maintain recovery against the US dollar on Wednesday as the interbank foreign exchange market ended at PKR 223.81 to the dollar.

    The exchange rate recorded a decline of 39 paisas to end at PKR 223.81 to the dollar from previous day’s closing of PKR 223.42 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

    READ MORE: Rupee beats dollar after seven sessions to end at PKR 223.42

    A day earlier, the local currency recovered 24 paisas to the dollar after making a losing streak for seven consecutive sessions.

    Currency experts said that the rupee was under immense pressure due to higher dollar demand for import and corporate payments.

    Besides, lack of inflows and foreign investment also made it difficult to the government to meet foreign payment obligations.

    READ MORE: Dollar rises for 7th straight session, reaches to PKR 223.66

    Previously, the five-year Credit Default Swap (CDS) of the country reached to record high of 92 showing inability of the government to repay its debts.

    Although last Saturday, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar assured the foreign investors that Pakistan would manage to repay its obligations in-time.

    Latest investment data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) revealed the foreign direct investment plunged by 52 per cent in first four months of the current fiscal year.

    The current account deficit recorded contraction in the first four months of the current fiscal year it swelled when compared with the previous month.

    READ MORE: Rupee plummets on mounting default risk; dollar advances to PKR 223.17

    Pakistan needs foreign inflows on urgent basis to avoid balance of payment crisis. The foreign exchange reserves of Pakistan fell sharply during past few months making it difficult for the government to fulfill its foreign repayment commitments.

    Foreign exchange (forex) reserves of Pakistan were at $13.796 billion by week ended November 11, 2022 as compared with $13.721 billion a week ago i.e. November 04, 2022.

    READ MORE: Rupee devaluation continues; dollar reaches PKR 222.67

    The country’s foreign exchange reserves hit all-time high of $27.228 billion on August 27, 2021. Since then the foreign exchange reserves have declined by $13.432 billion.

    The official foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank nominally increased by $3 million to 7.96 billion by week ended November 11, 2022 as compared with $7.957 billion a week ago.

    The foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank witnessed a record high at $20.146 billion by week ended August 27, 2021. Since then the official reserves of the SBP dropped by $12.185 billion.

  • SBP to make policy announcement amid economic slowdown

    SBP to make policy announcement amid economic slowdown

    KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is scheduled to announce monetary policy on November 25, 2022 amid slowdown in the economy.

    SBP’s monetary policy committee is set to meet on November 25, 2022 to decide benchmark rate. As per the survey conducted by Insight Securities, majority (93 per cent) participants expect policy rate to remain unchanged, while 7 per cent respondents expect increase in policy rate.

    READ MORE: State Bank reviews benchmark policy rate on November 25

    “We also expect SBP to maintain policy rate at 15 per cent, amid slowdown in domestic economic activity as evident in high frequency indicators, where we have witnessed a decline of 26 per cent, 18 per cent, 23 per cent and 46 per cent in diesel, petrol, cement and automobiles sales, respectively during first four months (July – October) of fiscal year 2022-2023,” said Muhammad Shahroz at Insight Securities.

    READ MORE: Poll suggests SBP to keep benchmark policy rate unchanged at 15pc

    Current account deficit for October 2022 clocked in at $567 million depicting decline of 68 per cent YoY, thanks to 23 per cent decline in trade deficit.

    Imports have remained under control in the first four months of the current fiscal year and stood at $20.6 billion as against $23.3 billion, down by 12 per cent YoY.

    READ MORE: SBP keeps policy rate unchanged at 15% amid economic deceleration

    The reduction is attributable to administrative measures taken by the government and central bank coupled with slowing domestic demand.

    Decline in commodity prices will keep imports under control, however, recent slowdown in export and remittances will put some pressure on current account deficit.

    READ MORE: SBP keeps benchmark rate unchanged at 15% amid rising inflation

    In October, inflation clocked in at 26.5 per cent amid higher electricity tariff and higher food prices.

    “We opine that, inflation has peaked and will decline from here amid lower fuel cost adjustment and high base effect,” Shahroz added.

  • State Bank reviews benchmark policy rate on November 25

    State Bank reviews benchmark policy rate on November 25

    KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Tuesday said it will review the benchmark policy rate on Friday, November 25, 2022.

    “The Monetary Policy Committee of SBP will meet on Friday, November 25, 2022 at SBP Karachi to decide about the Monetary Policy,” the SBP said in a statement.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited believed that the SBP would keep the policy rate unchanged at 15 per cent in the upcoming monetary policy.

    READ MORE: Poll suggests SBP to keep benchmark policy rate unchanged at 15pc

    To recall, in the last MPS too, policy rate was kept unchanged at 15 per cent and this stance was taken in lieu of a continued deceleration in economic activity as well as a decline detected in headline inflation since the last meeting held in August 2022.

    The MPC further stated that the existing rate prudently reflected a balance between maintaining growth post floods and managing inflation.

    The recent Balance of Payment numbers show that Pakistan’s current account deficit decreased by 37 per cent YoY to USD 2.2 billion during 1QFY23, as against a deficit of USD 3.5 billion during the same period last year.

    READ MORE: SBP keeps policy rate unchanged at 15% amid economic deceleration

    This YoY decline is mainly on the back of lower imports and jump in exports. With the measures taken by the authorities to curb import along with decline in international commodity prices, current account deficit is likely to remain lower in FY23 compared to FY22’s CAD.

    As a result of a contained CAD and disbursement from ADB (USD 1.5 billion), the weakening of PKR against USD showed moderation since last MPS, depreciating 2.2 per cent.

    Moreover, SBP believes that Pakistan’s external financing needs should be more than fully met in FY23 aided by rollovers by bilateral official creditors, new lending from multilateral creditors, and a combination of bond issuances, FDI and portfolio inflows.

    READ MORE: SBP keeps benchmark rate unchanged at 15% amid rising inflation

    Thus, pressure on the Rupee should lessen while SBP’s foreign exchange reserves should assume the upward trajectory which currently stand at USD 8.0 billion (11-Nov-2022).

    In addition, another positive development since the last MPC meeting has been the decline in international prices of major commodities such as WTI (-8.6 per cent), Coal (-21.5 per cent), Brent (-4.8 per cent), Steel (-3.8 per cent), Wheat (-8.4 per cent) and Arab Light (-6.6 per cent). This bodes well for our external account position, hence providing much needed relief to our trade numbers.

    On the domestic front, most of the high frequency (demand) indicators showed moderation to decline in growth on YoY basis. Measures taken by the monetary and fiscal authorities to slow down the aggregate demand along with rising cost of doing business led to decline of LSMI as evident from decline in production numbers during 1QFY23 of textile (-3.3 per cent YoY), food (-6.2 per cent YoY), automobile (-32.8 per cent YoY) and petroleum (-18.9 per cent YoY). Moreover, with recent flood damaged agriculture growth, lower yields of cotton and seasonal crops could weigh on growth this year.

    READ MORE: Poll sees no policy rate change in August 22, 2022 meeting

    As mentioned in the last MPS, SBP is closely monitoring the inflation trajectory. On the inflationary front, the headline inflation continues to remain in the double digit since Nov’21 mainly on the back of uptick in food and energy prices. In the month of Oct’22, headline inflation clocked-in at 26.6 per cent YoY. However, on MoM basis, inflation increased by 4.71 per cent mainly due to FCA adjustments and food prices’ hike. With this, average inflation for 4MFY23 clocks-in at 25.5 per cent compared to 8.74 per cent in 4MFY22. Moreover, headline inflation is expected to have peaked in the out-going quarter of FY23 and is likely to come down with high base-effect kicking-in.

  • Rupee beats dollar after seven sessions to end at PKR 223.42

    Rupee beats dollar after seven sessions to end at PKR 223.42

    KARACHI: Pakistani Rupee made a recovery on Tuesday after falling for seven straight sessions against the dollar in interbank foreign exchange market.

    The exchange rate recorded an appreciation of 24 paisas in rupee value to end at PKR 223.43 to the dollar from previous day’s closing of PKR 223.66 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

    READ MORE: Dollar rises for 7th straight session, reaches to PKR 223.66

    It is important to note that rupee recovery was surprising in the wake of adverse economic indicators.

    The five-year Credit Default Swap (CDS) of the country reached to record high of 92 showing inability of the government to repay its debts.

    Although last Saturday, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar assured the foreign investors that Pakistan would manage to repay its obligations in-time.

    READ MORE: Rupee plummets on mounting default risk; dollar advances to PKR 223.17

    Latest investment data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) revealed the foreign direct investment plunged by 52 per cent in first four months of the current fiscal year.

    The current account deficit recorded contraction in the first four months of the current fiscal year it swelled when compared with the previous month.

    Pakistan needs foreign inflows on urgent basis to avoid balance of payment crisis. The foreign exchange reserves of Pakistan fell sharply during past few months making it difficult for the government to fulfill its foreign repayment commitments.

    READ MORE: Rupee devaluation continues; dollar reaches PKR 222.67

    Foreign exchange (forex) reserves of Pakistan were at $13.796 billion by week ended November 11, 2022 as compared with $13.721 billion a week ago i.e. November 04, 2022.

    The country’s foreign exchange reserves hit all-time high of $27.228 billion on August 27, 2021. Since then the foreign exchange reserves have declined by $13.432 billion.

    READ MORE: Dollar climbs to PKR 222.41 amid foreign payment demand

    The official foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank nominally increased by $3 million to 7.96 billion by week ended November 11, 2022 as compared with $7.957 billion a week ago.

    The foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank witnessed a record high at $20.146 billion by week ended August 27, 2021. Since then the official reserves of the SBP dropped by $12.185 billion.

  • Meezan Bank signs pact to promote Islamic housing finance

    Meezan Bank signs pact to promote Islamic housing finance

    KARACHI: Meezan Bank has signed an agreement for promoting Islamic housing finance in the country.

    The bank and Pakistan Mortgage Refinance Company (PMRC), a Mortgage Liquidity Facility set up by the State Bank of Pakistan, have recently inked a Master Musharakah agreement to support and promote affordable housing finance in the country.

    Under this agreement, PMRC will provide five years fixed-rate concessional funds to Meezan Bank, which will provide much-needed support across the housing value chain.

    With the acquisition of funds worth five billion rupees, Meezan Bank aims to ultimately improve access to affordable, Shariah-compliant housing finance in Pakistan through better and more affordable rates.

    The signing ceremony took place at Meezan House, Karachi and was attended by Meezan Bank’s Founding President & CEO – Irfan Siddiqui, Deputy CEO – Ariful Islam, Group Head Consumer Finance – Syed Iftikhar ul Haq & Head of Housing Finance – Masroor Mohsin.

    PMRC was represented by their Managing Director & CEO – Mudassir H. Khan, Resident Shariah Board Member – Dr. Mufti Muhammad Yunas Ali, Head of Business – Muhammad Shahzad Khan & Head Islamic Business – Hasan Junaid Nasir.

    Irfan Siddiqui – Founding President and CEO, Meezan Bank appreciated the initiative taken by PMRC for bringing innovation in Islamic Finance market by floating funds for facilitation of end customers.

    “This initiative will support Islamic housing finance in the country despite rising KIBOR by making Shariah-compliant housing finance more affordable for the customers. We are pleased to be joining hands with PMRC as they continue to become an important player in the development of long-term housing finance in the country along with the comfort of fixed profit rates.”

    Mudassir H. Khan – Managing Director and CEO , PMRC while speaking at the occasion said: “It is indeed a milestone for both the institutions as we recognize the importance of mutual coordination between financial institutions for the growth and support of housing sector in the country. We are proud to support the largest Islamic bank in the country and believe that such collaborations will play a key role for promotion and growth of affordable housing in the country.”

  • Dollar rises for 7th straight session, reaches to PKR 223.66

    Dollar rises for 7th straight session, reaches to PKR 223.66

    KARACHI: US dollar continued to make gain for seventh straight session against the Pakistani Rupee (PKR) on Monday and reached PKR 223.66 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

    The exchange rate recorded a decrease of 49 paisas in rupee value to end at PKR 223.66 to the dollar as compared with last Friday’s closing of PKR 223.17 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

    The rupee witnessed the seventh consecutive day decline against the greenback.

    READ MORE: Rupee plummets on mounting default risk; dollar advances to PKR 223.17

    The latest depreciation in rupee was recorded as five-year Credit Default Swap (CDS) of the country reached to an alarming level of 79 per cent showing inability of the government to repay its debts.

    Although last Saturday, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar assured the foreign investors that Pakistan would manage to repay its obligations in-time.

    However, latest investment data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) revealed the foreign direct investment plunged by 52 per cent in first four months of the current fiscal year.

    READ MORE: Rupee devaluation continues; dollar reaches PKR 222.67

    Although the current account deficit recorded contraction in the first four months of the current fiscal year it swelled when compared with the previous month.

    Pakistan needs foreign inflows on urgent basis to avoid balance of payment crisis. The foreign exchange reserves of Pakistan fell sharply during past few months making it difficult for the government to fulfill its foreign repayment commitments.

    READ MORE: Dollar climbs to PKR 222.41 amid foreign payment demand

    Foreign exchange (forex) reserves of Pakistan were at $13.796 billion by week ended November 11, 2022 as compared with $13.721 billion a week ago i.e. November 04, 2022.

    The country’s foreign exchange reserves hit all-time high of $27.228 billion on August 27, 2021. Since then the foreign exchange reserves have declined by $13.432 billion.

    READ MORE: Dollar end up to PKR 221.91 in interbank on November 15, 2022

    The official foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank nominally increased by $3 million to 7.96 billion by week ended November 11, 2022 as compared with $7.957 billion a week ago.

    The foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank witnessed a record high at $20.146 billion by week ended August 27, 2021. Since then the official reserves of the SBP dropped by $12.185 billion.

  • SBP suspends two exchange companies namely Orient and Best Way in latest action

    SBP suspends two exchange companies namely Orient and Best Way in latest action

    KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday suspended authorization of two exchange companies for serious violation of regulatory environment.

    The central bank suspended the authorization of M/s Orient Exchange Company-B (Pvt) Limited and M/s Best Way Exchange Company-B (Pvt) Limited.

    READ MORE: Poll suggests SBP to keep benchmark policy rate unchanged at 15pc

    The SBP suspended the companies for three months due to serious violations of regulatory instructions.

    SBP has advised both the companies to strengthen their Internal Control Functions and submit a report, of corrective measures to be taken in this regard, to SBP.

    Both Exchange Companies, their Head Offices, all branches/outlets have been restricted from undertaking any kind of business activity during the suspension period.

    The central bank had initiated harsh action against the exchange companies in order to ensure legal mode of transactions for foreign currencies.

    REAR MORE: Action against banks for overcharging on LCs by month-end

    On October 27, 2022, the SBP suspended the authorization of M/s Mega Currency Exchange Company – B (Pvt) Limited.

    Similarly, on September 13, 2022, the central bank suspended the authorization of two Exchange Companies, namely, Swiss International Exchange Company-B (Pvt.) Limited and Great Union Exchange Company-B (Pvt.) Limited.

    On March 25, 2022, the SBP suspended with immediate effect the authorization of an Exchange

    Company namely M/s Noble Exchange International (Pvt) Limited till further orders for violation of SBP rules and regulations.

    Recently, the SBP and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) have agreed to take joint action against illegal exchange companies.

    It was agreed by the both that concerted joint effort is required to apprehend and implicate the illegal foreign exchange operators and speculators across the country.

    READ MORE: SBP introduces reporting system for illegal foreign exchange activity

    SBP and FIA have jointly initiated action against illegal foreign exchange operators in Pakistan. To this effect, joint teams from SBP and FIA shall identify and take penal/legal action against the perpetrators so as to curb speculation and the grey market.

    The teams, while remaining within the legal mandate allowed to them by the relevant laws, would crack down on all illegal foreign exchange operators and businesses across Pakistan.

    READ MORE: Pakistan remittances decline by 15.7% in October 2022

    Banks and Exchange Companies are authorized by the SBP to carry out Foreign Exchange business in Pakistan. Involvement of any person or entity, other than banks and Exchange Companies, in foreign exchange business is illegal under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947. The illegal foreign exchange business also adversely affects the open market exchange rate and increases the gap between the interbank and open market exchange rate.

  • Rupee plummets on mounting default risk; dollar advances to PKR 223.17

    Rupee plummets on mounting default risk; dollar advances to PKR 223.17

    KARACHI: Pakistani Rupee (PKR) plummeted against the US dollar on Friday owing to rising default credit risk on securities issued by the country.

    The local currency fell by 50 paisas to PKR 223.17 to the dollar in the interbank foreign exchange market as compared with previous day’s closing of PKR 222.67 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

    READ MORE: Rupee devaluation continues; dollar reaches PKR 222.67

    The exchange rate recorded a fall in rupee value against the dollar for the sixth consecutive session.

    Currency experts said that scarcity of foreign exchange and delay in pledged created panic in the market. The 5-year Credit Default Swap (CDS) increased to 80 per cent, which showed the foreign investors had lost faith in the securities issued by the country.

    They said that falling foreign exchange reserves in these conditions further aggravated the situation.

    Foreign exchange (forex) reserves of Pakistan were at $13.796 billion by week ended November 11, 2022 as compared with $13.721 billion a week ago i.e. November 04, 2022.

    READ MORE: Dollar climbs to PKR 222.41 amid foreign payment demand

    The country’s foreign exchange reserves hit all-time high of $27.228 billion on August 27, 2021. Since then the foreign exchange reserves have declined by $13.432 billion.

    The official foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank nominally increased by $3 million to 7.96 billion by week ended November 11, 2022 as compared with $7.957 billion a week ago.

    The foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank witnessed a record high at $20.146 billion by week ended August 27, 2021. Since then the official reserves of the SBP dropped by $12.185 billion.

    READ MORE: Dollar end up to PKR 221.91 in interbank on November 15, 2022

    The central bank took various measures to monitor outflow of the foreign currency in order to stabilize the rupee value.

    Currency experts said that the latest measures of the government to limit the cash dollar taking out of Pakistan supported the local currency to make gain.

    READ MORE: Dollar extends gain to PKR amid falling foreign exchange reserves

    On November 08, 2022, the SBP issued a circular to restrict the amount of foreign currency in cash up to equivalent to USD 5,000 from USD 10,000.

    The central bank issued a circular stating that it had reviewed the existing foreign currency cash carrying limits for travel purposes, and decided to further rationalize the same.

  • Poll suggests SBP to keep benchmark policy rate unchanged at 15pc

    Poll suggests SBP to keep benchmark policy rate unchanged at 15pc

    KARACHI: A poll has suggested that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) likely to keep benchmark policy rate at 15 in its monetary policy announcement scheduled for November 25, 2022.

    Topline Research conducted a Poll from market participants to assess their view on the upcoming Monetary Policy announcement.

    READ MORE: SBP keeps policy rate unchanged at 15% amid economic deceleration

    As per the survey, 79 per cent of the participants expects no change in policy rate in upcoming monetary policy and is likely to remain at 15 per cent. Around 16 per cent of the participants anticipates an increase whereas 5 per cent of the participants expects a decrease in policy rate.

    Responding to second question on their view about policy rate by end of the current fiscal year 2022-2023, majority think policy rate will be less than what it is now by June 2023.

    About 35 per cent of the participants expects policy rate to be in the range of 14-15 per cent, 27 per cent of the participants expects policy rate to be in the range of 13-14 per cent, and 19 per cent of the participants anticipate it to be in the range of 12 per cent-13 per cent by June 2023.

    READ MORE: SBP keeps benchmark rate unchanged at 15% amid rising inflation

    In terms of outlook for Current Account Deficit (CAD), 62 per cent of the participants expect CAD to be in a range of US$8-12 billion in FY23, while 21 per cent of the participants expect CAD to be below US$8 billion in FY23. 16 per cent of the participants expect CAD to be over US$12 billion in FY23. To recall, CAD in FY22 had clocked in at US$17.4 billion led by sharp uptick in imports.

    These results are also in line with our estimates where we think that policy rate will remain unchanged in upcoming monetary policy and are now at its peak where we can see a decline in policy rates in the second half of the current fiscal year.

    READ MORE: Poll sees no policy rate change in August 22, 2022 meeting

    Since last monetary policy statement on October 10, 2022, CPI inflation increased to 26.6 per cent in October 2022 as compared to 23 per cent in September 2022 but this was primarily due to major adjustment in electricity tariffs which will not be recurring.

    Furthermore, October 2022 imports saw 13 per cent contraction as a result trade deficit in October 2022 was down to $2.3 billion from $2.9 billion in September 2022. This is likely to keep a check in CAD going forward and will be a key driver in SBP’s monetary policy stance.

    Moreover, floods and monetary & fiscal tightening measures have led to slowdown in aggregate demand which could lead to SBP opting for status quo, we believe.

    READ MORE: Pakistan hikes key policy rate by 125 basis points to 15%

  • Rupee devaluation continues; dollar reaches PKR 222.67

    Rupee devaluation continues; dollar reaches PKR 222.67

    KARACHI: Pakistani Rupee (PKR) continued its devaluation for fifth consecutive day on Thursday as the US dollar reaches at PKR 222.67 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

    The exchange rate recorded a decline of 26 paisas in rupee value to end at PKR 222.67 to the dollar from previous day’s closing of PKR 222.41 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

    READ MORE: Dollar climbs to PKR 222.41 amid foreign payment demand

    The local currency witnessed a non-stop fall against the dollar during the past five sessions.

    Currency experts said uncertainty about IMF meeting pressured the exchange rate. Furthermore, a sharp surge in the credit default swap of 5-year bond of the country also adversely affected the market sentiments.

    They said that falling foreign exchange reserves in these conditions further aggravated the situation.

    Pakistan foreign exchange reserves slipped sharply by $958 million by week ended November 08, 2022 owing to external payments, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

    The foreign exchange reserves of the country have been recorded at $13.721 billion by week ended November 04, 2022 as compared with $14.679 billion a week ago i.e. October 28, 2022.

    READ MORE: Dollar end up to PKR 221.91 in interbank on November 15, 2022

    The country’s foreign exchange reserves hit all-time high of $27.228 billion on August 27, 2021. Since then the foreign exchange reserves have declined by $13.507 billion.

    The official foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank plunged by $958 million to $7.957 billion by week ended November 04, 2022 as compared with $8.913 billion a week ago.

    The SBP attributed the decline to external debt servicing. “Major external debt repayments executed during the week includes repayment of government commercial loans. Refinancing of these loans is in process which will improve foreign exchange reserves in coming weeks,” the central bank added.

    The foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank witnessed a record high at $20.146 billion by week ended August 27, 2021. Since then the official reserves of the SBP dropped by $12.189 billion.

    READ MORE: Dollar extends gain to PKR amid falling foreign exchange reserves

    The central bank has taken various measures to monitor outflow of the foreign currency in order to stabilize the rupee value.

    Currency experts said that the latest measures of the government to limit the cash dollar taking out of Pakistan supported the local currency to make gain.

    On November 08, 2022, the SBP issued a circular to restrict the amount of foreign currency in cash up to equivalent to USD 5,000 from USD 10,000.

    READ MORE: PKR slips to dollar as foreign exchange reserves fall sharply

    The central bank issued a circular stating that it had reviewed the existing foreign currency cash carrying limits for travel purposes, and decided to further rationalize the same.

    As per the revised limits individuals with age 18 years and above (adults) can now take out of Pakistan foreign currency (FCY) equivalent to USD5,000 per visit, while those below the age of 18 years (minors) can carry out foreign currency equivalent to USD2,500 per visit. Further, the annual ceiling to take out FCY for adults and minors shall be USD30,000 and USD15,000, respectively.