Spread rate cap not a good idea: Former NRB official

KATHMANDU, May 30:  

A former director of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has said that the central regulatory bank should not fix a spread cap for commercial banks.

“The central bank can alert the banks that they maintain a certain spread rate, but imposing a cap is an imprudent move,” Rewat Bahadur Karki, a former director of NRB who is presently the chairman of NRB Ex-Employees’ Association, said at a seminar on ‘Economic Policies andSustainable Development’ jointly organized by the Asian Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs and Mindkeys in capital on Wednesday.

Karki maintaining good governance was not only needed in commercial banks but also at the central regulatory bank for the integrity of the financial sector in the country.

Also speaking at the event, visiting-Professor of Economics at Universidad Francisco Marroquin Christopher Lingle opined that Nepal has a high potential for the economic growth as it lies between two large economics -- India and China.

Likewise, former Finance Secretary Rameshwore Prasad Khanal said Nepal needed policies that expedite economic growth. “Such policies should remove infrastructure bottlenecks as well as boost the confidence of the investors,” Khanal added.

Source: Republica