Siddhartha Bank Limited (SBL) and Business Universal Development Bank (BUDBL) started joint operations on Tuesday after their successful merger.

Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Governor Chiranjeevi Nepal inaugurated the joint operations of the merged entity.

Following the central bank’s ruling that commercial banks have to increase their paid up capital to Rs8 billion within the next fiscal year, Siddhartha Bank like many other commercial banks have undergone merger.

The bank’s paid up capital has reached a total of Rs. 3.02 billion following the merger, bank’s CEO Surender Bhandari said, hinting at its plan to merge another financial institution, preferably development bank, to further the capital size. “We have also announced issuing 25 percent rights shares,” said Bhandari, adding that profits accrued by the bank since last fiscal year will be added to the paid up capital. Following the merger, the combined deposit portfolio of the bank has reached Rs 62.10 billion, while credit portfolio stands at Rs 53.64 billion.

 The bank’s profit before bonus and tax stands at Rs 1.90 billion and net profit at Rs1.16 billion. 

After the merger, its branch network has reached 69 along with 81 ATMs and 65 branchless banking locations.