Banks collect 22 percent more deposit in Q1

Banks collect 22 percent more deposit in Q1
ArthaExpress, 28-Nov-08

Nepali commercial banks collected 22 percent more deposit during the first quarter (Q1) of the current fiscal year than they did in the corresponding period last year, according to the unedited financial date released by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the central bank of the country.

The 25 commercial banks in Nepal collected Rs. 450 billion in deposits during the period against the Rs. 351 billion collected during the corresponding period last year. There were only 23 commercial banks during the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2007/08.

The deposit figures for the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2008/09 also included Rs. 37.59 billion in foreign currency and the remaining in domestic currency.

According to NRB, Rastriya Banijya Bank (RBB), the largest bank of the

country, collected the most deposits in the period followed by Nepal Bank Ltd. (NBL). RBB collected Rs. 56.7 billion while NBL collected Rs. 40 billion during the first quarter of this year.

Likewise, collective loans and advances of the commercial banks increased by 25.5 percent during the first quarter of the current fiscal year.

The 25 commercial banks provided loans and advances amounting Rs. 321 billion against Rs. 239 billion provided by the 23 banks in last fiscal year´s first quarter.

Nepal Investment Bank Ltd. was the largest provider of loans and advances during the period with Rs. 31.5 billion followed by Agriculture Development Bank, Nepal (ADBN) with Rs. 31.1 billion, the NRB report said.

Despite being the two largest banks of the country, RBB and NBL didn´t provide the biggest amount of loans and advances as they were tied down by their negative net-worth. The central bank has fixed limitation on loans for banks with negative net-worth.

In the meantime, commercial banks collectively earned a net profit of Rs. 2.59 billion during the period against Rs. 1.91 billion last year. Among the 25 banks, RBB declared the highest net profit amounting Rs. 374 million, followed by Standard Chartered Bank Nepal Ltd (SCBNL) with Rs. 249 billion.