KATHMANDU, July 15: Bank of Kathmandu Ltd and Lumbini Bank Ltd have successfully completed their merger process and commenced joint operation as Bank of Kathmandu Lumbini (BoKL) from Thursday.

Unveiling the corporate logo of BoKL amid a function on Thursday, Nepal Rastra Bank Governor Chiranjivi Nepal said that the banks should go to the villages to serve the unbanked population.

The two banks had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for merger on December 22, 2015, and filed a joint application at the central bank, seeking consent in principle for merger. After receiving the consent in principle from the central bank, both the commercial banks had entered into Merger Agreement (Scheme of Arrangement) and obtained specific approvals from their respective general meetings.

Lumbini Bank had held its annual general meeting (AGM) on May 9, 2016, while Bank of Kathmandu organized its AGM on May 30, 2016. The central bank approved their joint application for merger on July 8.

After the merger, the paid-up capital of Bank of Kathmandu Lumbini has increased to Rs 4.57 billion.

Deposits and loans of Bank of Kathmandu as of third quarter had reached Rs 40.72 billion and Rs 34.85 billion, respectively, according to unaudited results published by the bank. Similarly, deposits and loans of Lumbini Bank were at Rs 22.94 billion and Rs 20.36 billion, respectively. Similarly, net profit of Bank of Kathmandu and Lumbini Bank by the end of third quarter was Rs 483.51 million and Rs 277.93 million, respectively, according to Ajay Shrestha, CEO of Bank of Kathmandu Lumbini.

Meanwhile, the boards of directors unanimously elected Satya Narayan Manandhar as the chairman of Bank of Kathmandu Lumbini. The Bank of Kathmandu Lumbini has a network of 74 branch offices, 63 ATMs, seven extension counters and 33 branchless banking points throughout the country.

 
• merged
 
• bank
 
• kathmandu
 
• lumbini
 
• starts
 
• operation