Prabhu Bank inaugurated; NRB Governor says merger not a remedy for all problems

ShareSansar, September 15:

Prabhu Bank Ltd, which was formed following the merger between Kist Bank, Prabhu Development Bank, Gaurishankar Development Bank and Zenith Finance Ltd, has come into operation.

Nepal Rastra Bank Governor Dr Yuba Raj Khatiwada inaugurated the newly formed bank amid a grand ceremony held at former Kist Bank headquarters Babarmahal today.

The merged entity Prabhu Bank has the paid-up capital of Rs 3.8 arba. According to the bank, the number of the branches has reached 112, ATM machines 110, staffs 1200 while it will have 7 lakh plus depositors. With the merger, Prabhu Bank has now highest number of branches in the country among the private commercial banks.

Devi Prakash Bhattachan is the chairman of the Prabhu Bank which has seven members in the board of directors. The bank has retained Kumar Lamsal as its chief executive officer (CEO) while former CEO of Prabhu Development Bank Ashok Sherchan will be the deputy CEO of the bank. The swap ratio as per the DDA is 97.31 for Kist, 107.31 for Prabhu, 107.31 for Gauri Shankar, and 92.31 for Zenith.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, NRB governor said that bankers should not try to find solution of every problem through the merger.

“Merger is also one of the attempts to avert any possible mishap. Merger is however not a remedy of all problems,” said Governor Dr Khatiwada.

“The merger is like an opportunity to put the bank in a rehabilitation house for their improvement and recovery. By remaining in the rehabilitation house, we expect that there will be improvement in the health condition of the bank after some time,” he added.

Also speaking in the program, Chairman Bhattachan said that the bank was planning to work together with other banks in consortium for the infrastructure development of the country.

“We will regularly undergo through the checking of the NRB to ensure that the bank’s health condition is good.”

These institutions had received the final approval of merger from Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) for the merger on August 6 and from the Office of Company Registrar on August 12.

All the four companies had endorsed the proposal of merger and integrated operation from their respective annual general meetings (AGMs) held on June 14.