New statute has ensured NRB’s authority: Governor

Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Governor Chiranjivi Nepal has said that the provision in the new constitution bringing banks and financial institutions under the jurisdiction of the central government has ensured the authority of the central bank over BFIs. Speaking at a ceremony to mark the 61st anniversary of the central bank on Tuesday, Nepal said that the draft constitution which had proposed to put BFIs under the control of the federal states had brought uncertainty regarding the regulations of BFIs in the banking sector. “The dual jurisdiction of both central government and provincial government in the initial draft had posed a risk of segregating the important task of regulations and supervision of the financial sector,” he said, adding that strong lobbying from the central bank ensured that BFIs remain under the central authority. The governor said that the regulation has given due attention to increase the larger population’s access to finance. The central bank has brought refinancing loan to people of eight districts with high poverty. “NRB will provide refinancing loan at 1 percent to BFIs and they can charge up to 4.5 percent on such loans,” said Nepal. Various macroeconomic indicators of the country are improving after gradual normalisation in supply of fuel along with other essential commodities in the country, according to the NRB. During the ceremony, the central bank felicitated Himalayan SJB Rana, the first governor of the central bank, for his contribution in setting up the institutional framework of NRB. Source: ekantipur