Banks lent Rs 44.15 billion in the past one month; double of the amount in review month last year

Published On: September 21, 2023 09:15 AM NPT By: Republica | @RepublicaNepal

KATHMANDU, Sept 21: Demand for bank loans grew almost double in the past month between mid-July and mid-September compared to the same period last year.

The records with Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) show that banks and financial institutions provided their clients with loans of Rs 44.15 billion in the past one month. During the same period in the fiscal year 2022/23, banks provided credit worth Rs 22.90 billion to their clients.

Banks’ lending started to plunge heavily from January 2022. In the last fiscal year, their private sector lending increased by only Rs 157.28 billion, an increase of 3.42 percent from Rs 4.697 trillion during the period.

Bankers said an increase in banks’ loans is a positive sign for the economy, which indicates that the confidence of entrepreneurs has started to improve. According to them, opening of a letter of credit account however increased at a slow rate during the period.