Season of ‘big merger’ of commercial banks: 8 banks merge

KATHMANDU: Then Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), Chiranjibi Nepal, made a provision for the commercial banks to have paid up capital of Rs 8 billion through the monetary policy of the Fiscal Year 2016/17. The timeline given for this was until July 15, 2017. The goal of increasing the paid-up capital was to decrease the number of commercial banks. The policy that was adopted at that time has turned into reality at present. Although some commercial banks went for a merger in the meantime, a wave of the latest mergers has reduced the numbers of commercial banks, giving a sense of the then goal of the big merger. Eight commercial banks have merged with each other in the month of Poush alone while additional two commercial banks are in the merger phase. The statement made by Prithvi Bahadur Pande, Chair of Nepal Investment Bank Ltd (NIBL), during the ceremony announcing the merger of NIBL and Mega Bank Nepal Ltd on Wednesday, gave a reflection that the commercial banks are committed to implementing the government's policy. Eight banks have merged and have already started their joint operation. The banks which merged in the month of Poush include Kumari Bank and NCC Bank; Global IME and  Bank of Kathmandu; Prabhu Bank and Century Bank; and NIBL and Mega Bank. Chandra Prasad Dhakal, Chairperson of the then Global IME Bank (GBIME), led the board of directors. Its members are Krishna Prasad Sharma, Devendra Pratap Shah, Cabinet Shrestha, Ram Bahadur Bhandari, Radhesh Panta and Madan Lal Joshi. Following the merger, the bank with a paid-up capital being Rs 35.7 billion has become the biggest one. After the integrated transaction, its capital fund reached Rs 57 billion. Its deposit collection has got to Rs 410 billion, loan floating Rs 400 billion, and total assets Rs 500 billion. Its branches have reached all districts in the country. At present, GBIME has a total of 1,100 branches across the country and three foreign contact offices. The plan is afoot to set up its foreign contact office in South Korea, said the Bank. It has over 4 million customers and more than 4,000 employees. The Bank has merged with and acquired 21 banks and financial institutions so far. The merger aims to carry out creative and qualitative changes in banks and financial institutions, said Dhakal. By RSS READ ALSO:

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