Selection process of new governor to begin soon
KATHMANDU:
The formal process of appointing the new central bank governor will start soon, as the government is all set to form a committee which will shortlist names of candidates who could lead Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) for the next five years.“The committee responsible for recommending names of candidates for the governor’s post may be formed as early as Tuesday, when the Cabinet is scheduled to meet,” Finance Secretary Suman Prasad Sharma told The Himalayan Times.In this regard, the Ministry of Finance is likely to forward names of committee members to the Cabinet by tomorrow or Tuesday morning. “Once these names are endorsed, the process of shortlisting candidates for the governor’s post would formally begin,” Secretary Sharma said, without revealing the names of people who are likely to become a part of the committee that would recommend names for the governor’s post.
As per Nepal Rastra Bank Act, a three-member recommendation committee has to be formed under the finance minister for appointment of a new governor. One of the members of the committee has to be a former NRB governor and the other should be renowned in the field of economics, banking, finance or commercial law.
This committee should then shortlist names of three persons for the governor’s post and forward the names to the Cabinet. At least one of the candidates for the governor’s post should be deputy NRB governor and the other two should be renowned in the field of economics, banking, finance, commerce, management or commercial law, says the Act.
The Cabinet will then select the new governor from among these candidates. The governor’s tenure lasts for five years and can be extended by another five-year term.
Incumbent NRB Governor Yubaraj Khatiwada was appointed to the post for the first time on March 19, 2010. He, however, has not expressed interest to extend his term.Although the governor selection process is generally wrapped up a month before the incumbent governor leaves the office, it has been delayed this time.
This is also because the incumbent governor has not stayed on leave a month prior to his retirement. Generally incumbent governors go on leave one month before the expiry of their tenure — although this is not a mandatory provision.
It is almost confirmed that the incumbent governor will remain in office for at least one more week as he is the keynote speaker at the International Conference on Economics and Finance being organised by NRB from February 26-28.
“He has not said whether he’ll be attending the office after the conference ends,” a high-ranking NRB official said.
NRB’s international conference
Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the central bank, is holding Second International Conference on Economics and Finance on February 26-28, which is expected to bring together policymakers and researchers of at least 11 different countries. During the conference, at least 53 papers on economics and finance are expected to be presented by researchers of countries like India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Malaysia, the UK and Russia, among others. Some of the issues that are expected to be discussed during the conference are: financial sector development, economic growth, poverty alleviation, financial system and stability, corporate governance in the financial sector, macroeconomic policies, financial innovation, monetary, banking and financial policies, public finance, fiscal policy, global economic integration, financial crisis, post-crisis cooperation, international trade and capital flows, microfinance, access to finance and financial inclusion. NRB Governor Yubaraj Khatiwada will be the keynote speaker at the conference. The conference was last held in 2012 when around 60 papers on economics and finance were presented.
Source: THT
