• National
  • Politics
  • Valley
  • Opinion
  • Money
  • Sports
  • Culture & Lifestyle

  • National
    • Madhesh Province
    • Lumbini Province
    • Bagmati Province
    • National Security
    • Koshi Province
    • Gandaki Province
    • Karnali Province
    • Sudurpaschim Province
  • Politics
  • Valley
    • Kathmandu
    • Lalitpur
    • Bhaktapur
  • Opinion
    • Columns
    • As it is
    • Letters
    • Editorial
    • Cartoon
  • Money
  • Sports
    • Cricket
    • Football
    • International Sports
  • Culture & Lifestyle
    • Arts
    • Brunch with the Post
    • Movies
    • Life & Style
    • Theater
    • Entertainment
    • Books
    • Fashion
  • Health
  • Food
    • Recipes
  • Travel
  • Investigations
  • Climate & Environment
  • World
  • Science & Technology
  • Interviews
  • Visual Stories
  • Crosswords & Sudoku
  • Horoscope
  • Forex
  • Corrections
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Today's ePaper
Sunday, July 27, 2025

Without Fear or FavourUNWIND IN STYLE

27.07°C Kathmandu
Air Quality in Kathmandu: 64
300+Hazardous
0-50Good
51-100Moderate
101-150Unhealty for Sensitive Groups
151-200Unhealthy
201-300Very Unhealthy
Sun, Jul 27, 2025
27.07°C Kathmandu
Air Quality in Kathmandu: 64
  • What's News :

  • Open-air jet repair
  • Nepal’s para-fighters
  • Court intervention in lawmaking
  • Temporary bridge at Rasuwagadhi
  • Customs offices merge

Money

Interest rates on deposits slashed to single digits

Banks will pay 9.99 percent interest on fixed deposits from Friday, down from 11 percent, officials said. Interest rates on deposits slashed to single digits
Insiders say that bankers decided to cut the interest rate at the behest of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal who has been reiterating that the rate would come down to single digits.  POST FILE PHOTO
bookmark
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • Whatsapp
  • mail
Post Report
Published at : April 12, 2023
Updated at : April 13, 2023 08:21
Kathmandu

Commercial banks have announced a New Year’s gift of slashed interest rates on deposits from Friday, the first day of Bikram Sambat, the official calendar in Nepal.

Sunil KC, president of the Nepal Bankers Association, said that the association decided on Wednesday to lower the interest rates on both fixed deposits and savings to single digits.

“The interest rate on fixed deposits has been brought down to 9.99 from 11 percent,” he said. “The institutional interest rate on deposits has also been slashed to 7.99 percent from 9 percent.”

Earlier in January, banks had slashed the rate on individual fixed deposits by 1 percentage point to 11 percent.

Insiders say that bankers decided to cut the interest rate at the behest of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal who has been reiterating that the rate would come down to single digits.

On Tuesday, central bank Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari said that voices from the private sector had been getting louder regarding the high interest rates on loans.

"It is not in the hands of Nepal Rastra Bank to change the rates. The central bank has let the market itself determine the rates for the past 33 years. Interest rates depend on the status of loanable funds," Adhikari said.

The association said that as the amount of loanable funds with the banks had increased, they have decided to reduce the interest rate.

Deposits at the banks and financial institutions increased by Rs280.57 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year compared to an increase of 192.12 billion in the same period in previous year, according to Nepal Rastra Bank.

Private sector credit from banks and financial institutions increased by Rs128.18 billion in the review period compared to an increase of Rs522.49 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year.

“There are signs that the economy is headed towards positive territory,” said KC, who is also the chief executive officer of NMB Bank. “We have seen improvements in the external sector of the economy in the past four months.”

Nepal’s remittance earnings swelled by 25.3 percent year-on-year to Rs794.32 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year.

As a result of increased remittance earnings, gross foreign exchange reserves went up by 15.2 percent to Rs1,401.21 billion in mid-March 2023 from Rs1,215.80 billion in mid-July 2022, the central bank said.

Of the total foreign exchange reserves, reserves held by Nepal Rastra Bank rose by 17.8 percent to Rs1,244.94 billion in mid-March 2023 from Rs1,056.39 billion in mid-July 2022.

Reserves held by banks and financial institutions, however, decreased by 2 percent to Rs156.27 billion in mid-March 2023 from Rs159.41 billion in mid-July 2022.

Nepali banks have also decided to lower the interest rate on savings.

From Friday, they will pay 5.4 to 7.4 percent interest on general savings. Currently, interest rates on savings range from 6 to 8 percent.

The drop in deposit rates will help lower the cost of deposits, which will further help in the reduction of the base rate.

“It will ultimately help to bring down the interest rate on loans,” said KC. “The results will be visible in the coming months.”

According to central bank regulations, Nepali banks will also have to lower the spread rate—the difference between the interest rate on deposits and the interest rate on loans—from the current 4.4 percent to 4.2 percent from April 14.

“The spread rate has to be brought down further to 4 percent in the last month of the current fiscal year (mid-June to mid-July 2023),” said KC. “It will further cause a reduction in the interest rate for borrowers.”

The impact of the announcement of lower interest rates was instantly seen in the stock market with the NEPSE index closing 92.22 points higher at 1963.55 on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the NEPSE was up 27.31 points with the share prices of all 218 listed companies showing gains. 


Related News

Nepal’s top revenue-generating customs offices merge
‘Selling EVs is to help laying foundation for a sustainable future’
Ncell Crorepati scheme marks a rare turn of fortune for Parbati Karki
FDI pledges to Nepal inch up 5 percent amid policy tweaks
NEPSE this week
AmCham Nepal, US Department of Commerce host high-level webinar to boost ICT Trade

Most Read from Money

Wrong speed, unsafe cargo and lax safety caused Saurya crash
Kailash pilgrims breathe new life into Nepal’s mountain economy
US-Bangla ordered to pay full damages for 2018 fatal crash
Chure belt turns into tourist hotspot amid conservation concerns
Nepal’s foreign trade hits Rs2 trillion, driven by edible oil re-export boom

Editor's Picks

Kailash pilgrims breathe new life into Nepal’s mountain economy
Pressure groups are dictating lawmaking
Indians paying by QR in Nepal for a year but Nepalis still lack access in India
UML weighs binning age, term limits amid Oli-Bhandari rivalry
Law in the works to check officials’ conflict of interest

E-PAPER | July 27, 2025

  • Read ePaper Online
×
ABOUT US
  • About the Post
  • Masthead
  • Editorial Standards & Integrity
  • Workplace Harassment Policy
  • Privacy Policy
READ US
  • Home Delivery
  • ePaper
CONTACT US
  • Write for the Post
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Advertise in the Post
  • Work for the Post
  • Send us a tip
INTERACT WITH US
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
OUR SISTER PUBLICATIONS
  • eKantipur
  • saptahik
  • Nepal
  • Nari
  • Radio Kantipur
  • Kantipur TV
© 2025 www.kathmandupost.com
  • Privacy Policy
Top