Nepal Rastriya Dainik

Kathmandu – During the Gen Z protests on September 8 and 9 , nearly Rs 380 million worth of gold and cash was looted from the Rastriya Banijya Bank branch located inside the Parliament building. Nepal Rastra Bank Governor Dr. Bishwanath Paudel confirmed the incident, stating that Rs 50 million in cash and 18 kilograms of gold were stolen.

According to Governor Paudel, the branch experienced a “serious burglary.” He personally inspected the site on September 11 after the protests subsided. Initial investigations revealed that lockers inside the branch had been broken open to steal the cash and gold.

So far, no suspects have been arrested. Nepal Rastra Bank and police are reviewing CCTV footage to identify those involved. Governor Paudel explained that although protesters did not specifically target banks, the Parliament branch became vulnerable due to its location.

Rastriya Banijya Bank CEO Devendra Raman Khanal said the investigation is in its final stage and that an official report on the scale of loss will be made public soon.

Preliminary data from the Bankers’ Association and Nepal Rastra Bank shows that 68 bank branches and 69 ATMs across the country were damaged during the protests. However, the Parliament branch is the only one where a large amount of gold and cash was confirmed stolen.

The Ministry of Finance has formed a working group to study the merger between Nepal Bank Limited and National Commercial Bank.

After Nepal Rastra Bank instructed private sector banks to increase their paid-up capital or go for the merger, the government has also advanced the process of merger between the two government banks, Nepal Bank Limited and Rashtriya Commercial Bank.

Bhupal Baral, head of the financial sector management division of the ministry, has been assigned as the coordinator of the merger-related task force.

Currently, Nepal Bank’s paid-up capital is 14.69 billion rupees, while National Commercial Bank’s paid-up capital is 15.63 billion rupees. By the third quarter of the financial year, Nepal Bank has managed to collect deposits of 229 billion rupees and extended loans of 173 billion rupees.

Nepal Bank has made a profit of 1.78 billion 2.3 million rupees by the end of March, while the bank made a profit of 2.19 billion rupees during the same period last year. Bank’s bad loans are 4.16 percent. As the profit has decreased, the distributable profit of the bank has also decreased. In the middle of March, the distributable profit of the bank has been limited to 180 million. During the same period last year, the bank’s distributable profit was Rs 2.70 billion.

On the other hand, the National Commercial Bank has made a profit of 3.57 billion rupees in the third quarter of the current financial year. In the same period last year, the bank made a profit of Rs 2.61 billion. By the end of March, the bank has collected 302 billion deposits and disbursed loans of 225 billion rupees. Bank’s bad loans are 3.88 percent.

TRENDINGS

Rs 380 million worth gold and cash looted from bank inside Parliament

Government in the process of merger between Nepal Bank Limited and National Commercial Bank

Managed by Editorial Nepal Pvt. Ltd.