Kathmandu, Dec. 4
The Confederation of Banks and Financial Institutions
Nepal (CBFIN) has urged the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to support
reforms and upgrading of the Nepali banking sector.
In a discussion with IMF's Nepal representative Teresa
Daban Sanchez on Sunday, CBFIN expressed concerns over the uneasiness in the
economy.
According to it, service charges charged by banks and
financial institutions, interest rates, lack of investable funds are creating
challenges to the BFIs.
In response, Sanchez stated that the situation of the
world economy was becoming complicated. She said that due to the disruption of
internal demand and supply in the United States and Europe, interest rates have
also increased and inflation has gone up.
According to her, all countries should be prepared to
deal with the situation carefully through their monetary policy in order to
ease the current difficult situation. "As Nepal's economy is located
between the two largest economies and markets of the world - India and China, the
country should focus on expanding investment in the manufacturing sector,
increasing productivity, encouraging internal use and promoting the export of
original products with special characteristics," she said.
Former Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered
Bank Nepal, Joseph Silvanus, pointed out that the non-funded income of the BFIs
was decreasing and suggested that they should identify their production and
investment areas and move forward.
Pawan Kumar Golyan, President of CBFIN, said that
Nepal's production system and agricultural sector are weak due to
over-investment in low-productivity sectors, so it has a direct impact on
imports.
He gave emphasis on the creation of a sustainable and
self-sufficient economy by changing the import-oriented economy to an
export-oriented one. It is possible only if policy reforms can be made to
increase productivity, encourage the consumption of Nepali products and promote
the export of original products along with investment in the manufacturing
sector, he said.
Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 5 December 2022.
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