NRB Governor Adhikari claims of maintaining fiscal stability amid Covid and supply crisis

Kathmandu, April 4: The five-year office term of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari is terminating this week.     

Addressing a press conference at the bank's central office here today, Governor Adhikari said the Central Bank has been able to maintain economic stability by improving its monetary policy in the face of economic challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war and the supply crisis.     

He said that the policy reforms required to reduce the pressure from the external sector during his tenure have helped strengthen the country's financial stability.     

Stating that there is a foreign exchange reserve that can sustain imports for 14.4 months at present, Governor Adhikari said NRB has been able to keep inflation within the target by revising the monetary policies in a timely manner.     

"The Rastra Bank had implemented various concessional fiscal and monetary policies to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. A flexible policy was adopted to facilitate the flow of credit to banks and financial institutions in difficult circumstances,” he added.     

According to him, the flexible policy has a positive impact on business operations and investment promotion and also has contributed to economic revival.     

Governor Adhikari said that regulation and supervision of banks and financial institutions have been strengthened to ensure financial stability and risk mitigation measures have been implemented effectively.     

He said that digital payment system, mobile banking, QR code payment, internet banking and the use of digital wallets have increased significantly in the last five years.     

"The electronic payment transactions have grown by two folds in Fiscal Year 2080/81 as compared to the fiscal year 2077/78, which has helped promote digital financial inclusion," he said, adding that along with the growth of digital transactions, the central bank has also adopted necessary policy and technological reforms, giving priority to cyber security.     

Similarly, the NRB Governor mentioned that 116 policy provisions have been formulated and implemented to make institutional reforms and performance more effective.     

He said that regulation and supervision methods have been implemented in accordance with international practice to strengthen the financial system and special attention has been paid to cyber security of financial institutions by adopting a policy aimed at orienting the banking system towards digitization.     

On the occasion, Governor Adhikari also released a book containing the major works carried out and achievements made by NRB in the last five years. (RSS)