KATHMANDU, May 16: The use of refinance facility provided by the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has increased in the first eight months of the current fiscal year – FY2018/19 as private sector sought more concessional loans under this scheme amid shortage of lendable fund in banking sector and skyrocketing interest rates.

BRUSSELS – Critics have called new World Bank president David Malpass an arsonist in charge of a fire department, because of past comments he made on Bank salaries and loans to China. But it’s far more important to focus on improving progress toward the World Bank’s core mission of ending extreme poverty.

KATHMANDU, Feb 7: Private sector leaders have sought the intervention of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) to reduce the skyrocketing lending rates of bank and financial institutions (BFIs) that, they say, is further eroding competitiveness of the country’s manufacturing sector.

KATHMANDU, Feb 1: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has sought details of loans that bank and financial institutions (BFIs) have floated until mid-January under subsidized loan schemes.

KATHMANDU, Jan 20: The government has disbursed  Rs 758.2 million in interest subsidy for loans floated under a concessional credit scheme for certain agricultural and livestock businesses.  It bears five percent of the interest for loans disbursed by banks and financial institutions.

KATHMANDU, Jan 14: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has directed the banks and financial institutions to submit the details of all the loans and facilities they have approved to it.

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KATHMANDU, Nov 7: Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) will now be allowed to provide only 50 percent loans for the purchase of automobiles for personal use. Issuing a new circular on Tuesday, Nepal Rastra Bank lowered the limit of the loan-to-value ratio in the purchase of autos to 50 percent from the existing 65 percent.

KATHMANDU, Sept 28: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has unveiled unified working procedure related to interest subsidy for concessional loans, paving the way for unemployed educated youths, returnee migrant workers, women entrepreneurs, Dalits and earthquake victims, among other targeted groups, to borrow money from bank and financial institutions at cheaper interest rates.

KATHMANDU, July 14: Although tea has been considered as a competitive product of the country, most of the tea farmers are apparently uninterested in expanding their business.

KATHMANDU, July 12: The Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has introduced a provision in the Monetary Policy for Fiscal Year 2018/19 which allows banks to count loans against academic certificates, and higher education loans for students of marginalized and Dalit community, among others, as deprived sector lending.

PALPA, July 10: Bagnaskali rural municipality of Palpa has started to provide loans to promote self employment in agriculture and animal husbandry after youths present their education certificates as collateral.

REPUBLICA KATHMANDU, July 4 Commercial banks have slowed down their loan investment as they prepare to close their accounts at the end of the current fiscal year. Deposit flow in the banking system, however, has increased amid rise in government spending. Data compiled by Nepal Bankers Association (NBA) shows that 28 commercial banks extended Rs 17 billion in the past three weeks (between June 8 and June 29), while their deposit rose Rs 41 billion in the same period. With this, total outstanding deposit and loans of these commercial banks has reached Rs 2,377 billion and Rs 2,080 billion as of as of June 29. The recovery in deposit mobilization by commercial banks, who have been suffering from the shortage of lendable fund since long, comes in the wake of the rise in government expenditure at fiscal year-end. Increased government spending pumps more cash into the banking system. According to the data of Financial Comptroller General Office, the government has so far spent 54.26 percent of the capital budget allocated for the current fiscal year. The government has spent Rs 181.88 billion out of Rs 335.18 billion allocated for development spending for FY2017/18. A lion's share of such fund was spent in the past two months. Despite deposits growth, bank lending has slowed in recent days. Bankers say that the slowdown in lending at the fiscal year-end is a natural phenomenon in the banking industry. “Since most of the banks focus on recovery of their loans in the last month of the fiscal year, lending slows down during this time,” Bhuvan Dahal, CEO of Sanima Bank Ltd, said. According to bankers, many investors also do not seek loans during this time when business firms close their book and accounts. Banking industry has been seeing shortage of lendable fund in recent months due to mismatch in their deposits and loan growth. As banks expanded their lending investment sharply despite slow growth in deposit, the credit to core capital cum deposit (CCD) ratio of many banks have reached a saturation level. Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) requires banks to maintain CCD ratio of 80 percent. Many banks even saw their CCD ratio touching the upper limit, leading to a sharp rise in deposit rates. However, even the increment in deposit rates to over 13 percent failed to bring adequate deposits into the banking system. The skyrocketing interest rates prompted bankers to cap their saving rate at 7 percent and fixed deposit at 12 percent.

GORKHA, June 3: The settlements in the northern parts of Gorkha district are almost deserted at present. Hardly any youths can be seen here. Apart from teachers, elected representatives and employees of firms and organizations, those settlements do not have any population between the age of 20 to 50.

KATHMANDU, May 30: The government has announced grants and concessional loan for entrepreneurship development through the budget for Fiscal Year 2018/19.

KATHMANDU, May 26: The use of various subsidized loans provided by the government has increased in the third quarter of the current fiscal year.

KATHMANDU, May 9: Though Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has paved the way for commercial banks for foreign currency borrowing, it seems that they will not be able to get resources from foreign banks anytime soon.

BAJURA, March 20: It has already been a decade since Bishnakala Lwar, a local of Budinanda Municpality-1 in Bajura district, has had stomach-related ailment.

BUTWAL, March 5: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Governor, Chiranjivi Nepal, has called for proper utilization of bank loans taken by the general public and entrepreneurs.

KATHMANDU, Feb 20: The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police has arrested eight operators of investment companies for their involvement in banking fraud and charging an exorbitant interest rate of over 24 percent on loans.

KATHMANDU, Feb 1: Farmers getting loans from bank and financial institutions (BFIs) under subsidized interest scheme of the government will now have to bear higher borrowing cost.

KATHMANDU, Jan 10: At a time when earthquake victims are struggling to get subsidized loans from bank and financial institutions (BFIs), the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has introduced working procedure to provide similar concessional credit to the flood victims of Saptari and fire victims of Bhojpur and Terhathum for construction of house and run businesses.

KATHMANDU, Jan 10: At a time when earthquake victims are struggling to get subsidized loans from bank and financial institutions (BFIs), the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has introduced working procedure to provide similar concessional credit to the flood victims of Saptari and fire victims of Bhojpur and Terhathum for construction of house and run businesses.

KATHMANDU, Jan 10: At a time when earthquake victims are struggling to get subsidized loans from bank and financial institutions (BFIs), the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has introduced working procedure to provide similar concessional credit to the flood victims of Saptari and fire victims of Bhojpur and Terhathum for construction of house and run businesses.

KATHMANDU, Jan 4: Only a third of the total outstanding stock of foreign direct investment (FDI) is on paid-up capital while the remaining portion is held in reserve or debt, according to a study conducted by the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB).

KATHMANDU, Dec 26: Bank and financial institutions (BFIs) have extended a total of Rs 6.46 billion in loans to farmers with the government-subsidized interest.

KATHMANDU, Dec 17: Agricultural loans disbursed to flower and fruits cultivation, bee-keeping and poultry sectors provided by banks and financial institutions throughout the nation have increased substantially in the last fiscal year.

KATHMANDU, Nov 29: Non-performing loans (NPL) of commercial banks slightly increased in the first quarter of the current fiscal year 2017/18 compared to corresponding period of FY 2016/17.

KATHMANDU, Sept 7: After tightening lending toward stock market for nearly six months, bank and financial institutions (BFIs) are now resuming margin lending to lure the stock market investors. Some BFIs have even published notice to attract investors for share loans with schemes.

KATHMANDU (REPUBLICA): Standard Chartered Bank Nepal Ltd (SCBNL) has offered special interest rate for people buying motor vehicles during the ongoing NADA Auto Show.

KATHMANDU, Aug 30: Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) have introduced attractive interest rates to woo buyers looking for bank financing to buy motor vehicles at the ongoing NADA Auto Show.

KATHMANDU, Aug 8: Lending of bank and financial institutions (BFIs) to the agriculture sector has gone up by 12.6 percent in the eleven months of the last fiscal year 2016/17. With the loans and advances growing up by Rs 9.94 billion on agriculture sector, the total outstanding credit of the BFIs stood at Rs 88.73 billion. The growth rate of lending, however, is lower than the credit growth of the BFIs in this sector of the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year 2015/16.

KATHMANDU, July 20: Two years after the devastating earthquake, only 382 survivors have received subsidized loans from banks and financial institutions (BFIs) for rebuilding their houses.

KATHMANDU, June 27: Bank and financial institutions (BFIs) floated a total of Rs 99.34 billion in deprived sector loans in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year 2016/17.

KATHMANDU, June 21: Business leaders have urged the central bank to put a rule that requires bank and financial institutions (BFIs) to bring multi-bank borrowing above Rs 1 billion into consortium financing by mid-July on hold for the time being.

KATHMANDU, June 20: Private sector leaders have said that the monetary policy for the coming fiscal year 2017/18 should address the current problem of high interest rates and shortage of lendable funds in the banking system.

KATHMANDU, June 15: The process of getting loans from financial institutions should be made simple for the empowerment of women entrepreneurs, said leaders of the women entrepreneurs.

KATHMANDU, April 7: Banks have extended more loans than the total deposits they have mobilized in the first four months of 2017, indicating that they are still walking a tightrope between deposits and loans.

KATHMANDU, April 6: Banks have extended more loans than the total deposits they have mobilized in the first four months of 2017, indicating that they are still walking a tightrope between deposits and loans.

KATHMANDU, March 23: Bankers have said that it was not possible to follow a new rule proposed by the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) that will prohibit them to revise interest rates on floated loans more than twice a year.

BHAIRAHAWA, Feb 22: Rise in lending rates of banks and financial institutions (BFIs) has led to significant drop in import of motor vehicles in the country through Bhairahawa Customs Office.

KATHMANDU, Feb 22: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has tightened lending toward auto and vehicle purchases, allowing banks and financial institutions (BFIs) to provide loans of up to only 50 percent of the valuation of a private vehicle.

KATHMANDU, Dec 31: A majority of microfinance loans mobilized were to productive sectors, according to a report.

KATHMANDU, Dec 7: Bankers have said that bank and financial institutions (BFIs) are eager to provide credit to any small and medium enterprises (SMEs) if there is reasonable return and risk in their investment.

KATHMANDU, Dec 2: Women entrepreneurs have demanded that the government provide them subsidize loans.

KATHMANDU, Nov 3: Bank and financial institutions (BFIs) have extended Rs 4.52 billion worth of loans to service sector in the first two months of the current Fiscal Year 2016/17.

KATHMANDU, Sept 27: Nearly 52.1 percent of Nepali migrant workers still rely on informal channel like local landlords and traders for loans to finance their foreign employment trip, requiring them to allocate a major chunk of their earnings for the repayment.

KATHMANDU, Sept 21: Indian Line of Credit (LoC) of US$ 1,000 million has been downsized to $550 million because of the failure of the government to prepare projects to inject the fund.

KATHMANDU, Sept 17: Nepal and India on Friday signed an agreement for a line of credit (LoC) of US$ 750 million for post-earthquake reconstruction in Nepal.

KATHMANDU, Aug 31: Bank and financial institutions (BFIs) disbursed loans worth Rs 78.79 billion to the agriculture sector in the last fiscal year.