Economy on positive course: Governor Adhikari

By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, Nov. 17: Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), Maha Prasad Adhikari, said on Wednesday that the economy has begun to take positive course due to the strict policy adopted by the government and central bank.

Addressing a programme organised on the occasion of the 86th Anniversary of the Nepal Bank Limited (NBL) on the bank premises, he said that the positive results were achieved because of the strict actions taken and measures adopted by the NRB since February 2022. 

According to him, the economy now is in a satisfactory state following a prolonged pressure on the external sector and foreign currency reserves. According to the macroeconomic and financial report published by the NRB on Wednesday, the country's balance of payment and foreign currency reserves have improved in the first quarter of the current fiscal year 2022/23. 

The governor also stated that many policies, including import ban, had to be adopted to bring the economy to its current state, and maintained that the central bank was focused on stabilizing the economy with utmost seriousness. However, Adhikari said that the liquidity crunch had still made it difficult to obtain loan from the banks and financial institutions. 

Meanwhile, he appreciated the role of NBL in creating and nurturing entrepreneurs. "It has created many billionaires. This is a matter of pride," he said.

Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Krishna Bahadur Adhikari, said that the bank had achieved multiple successes with a young cohort of employees.

"All financial indicators of the bank are healthy and balanced. By the end of the last fiscal year, the bank managed to collect Rs. 196 billion in deposits and mobilised loans of Rs. 178 billion," he said. The bank's paid-up capital is Rs. 14.4 billion. It had started its services 86 years ago with just Rs. 842,000. 

The bank's reserve fund is Rs. 21.68 billion and net worth is more than Rs. 35 billion. The bank also appears strong in indicators such as abundant real estate, deposits, low base rate, spread rate management, balanced fluctuation of interest rate and bad loan management.  The bank is currently doing business through 226 branches, 199 ATMs and 50 extension counters.