Nepal’s Commercial Banks Net Profit Surges 32.33% to NPR 69.78 Arba in Q4 2082/83; Nabil Bank Leads

Currently, there are 20 Class 'A' commercial banks operating in Nepal under the regulation of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) following extensive mergers and consolidations designed to strengthen capital adequacy. In recent years, Nepalese commercial banks have experienced a shift toward tighter credit expansion, increased non-performing loans, higher provisioning requirements, and squeezed interest margins. Consequently, the commercial banking sector's profitability has seen mixed trends, with several major institutions showing strong recovery while others face noticeable bottom line contractions.

During Q4 82-83, Nepal's commercial banking sector posted a total net profit of 69.78 Arba, surging 32.33% from 52.73 Arba in Q4 81-82, with the industry average per bank rising from 2.64 Arba to 3.49 Arba. Out of 20 banks, 14 achieved growth while 6 contracted. Nabil Bank led the top 5 with 7.90 Arba (+33.45%), followed by Kumari Bank (7.38 Arba), Global IME Bank (6.22 Arba), Everest Bank (5.06 Arba), and Rastriya Banijya Bank (4.55 Arba).

The bottom 5 by profit volume comprised Prabhu Bank, NIC Asia Bank (0.18 Arba), Himalayan Bank (1.48 Arba), Nepal SBI Bank (2.04 Arba), and Citizens Bank International (2.09 Arba). Prabhu Bank was the sole entity in the red, posting a net loss of -0.24 Arba (-127.59%), whereas NIC Asia Bank recovered from its previous -3.87 Arba loss. The biggest growth surges were posted by Himalayan Bank (+1133.33%) and Kumari Bank (+307.73%), while Nepal Investment Mega Bank (-36.72%), Agriculture Development Bank (-29.49%), and Laxmi Sunrise Bank (-23.40%) saw the steepest drops.

 Distributable Profit and Distributable Profit Share:

 Out of the 20 commercial banks, Everest Bank Limited (EBL) leads with the highest Distributable Profit at 5.25 and highest Distributable Profit Per Share at 38.32, followed closely in profit by Nabil Bank Limited (NABIL) at 5.16 (19.10 per share). Overall, 16 banks report positive figures, while 4 banks show negative performance in distributable profit per share: Prabhu Bank Limited (PRVU) at -6.31 (-26.82 per share), Nepal Investment Mega Bank Limited (NIMB) at -5.08 (-14.91 per share), Himalayan Bank Limited (HBL) at -9.8 (-43.58 per share), and NIC Asia Bank Limited (NICA), which records the lowest figures at -14.86 (-99.65 per share).