Kathmandu, December 2 The collective profit of commercial banks increased by whopping 46.65 per cent to Rs 6.57 billion during the first quarter of current fiscal 2015-16, compared to net profit of Rs 4.48 billion in the corresponding period of previous fiscal, according to the unaudited financial statements published by 30 commercial banks. The profit of the commercial banks in the first quarter (Q1) of this fiscal rose substantially when compared with the corresponding period of fiscal 2014-15, when profitability had increased by 17.57 per cent. Nabil Bank topped the list of highest profit makers. The government-owned Rastriya Banijya Bank (RBB), Nepal Bank, Nepal Investment Bank and Everest Bank rounded up the top-five profit makers in terms of the amount of profit made in the review period. The top five profit makers have 62 per cent weightage on the total profit of the banking industry. Nabil Bank posted profit of Rs 653.5 million, RBB (Rs 603.96 million), Nepal Bank (Rs 444.37 million), Nepal Investment Bank (Rs 423.83 million) and Everest Bank (Rs 363.7 million) during the review period. The average profit growth of commercial banks stood at nearly 47 per cent despite of the relief schemes announced by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) for borrowers affected due to the massive earthquakes in April and May, and Tarai unrest. Issuing a circular on October 27, NRB had announced relief packages for borrowers considering the unfavourable economic situation in the country. Banks have also been allowed to incorporate the interest amount that had matured by mid-October but had been repaid by mid-November in their Q1 balance sheets. Prabhu Bank has taken the lead in terms of profit growth in this period. The bank has earned profit worth Rs 261.7 million in the first quarter — a massive 324 per cent growth as compared to the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. Prabhu Bank was in loss of Rs 116.83 million in Q1 of fiscal 2014-15. Likewise, Janata Bank ranked second in terms of profitability. It made total profit of Rs 57.55 million in the review period, which is 169.39 per cent higher than the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. Similarly, NB Bank with total profit of Rs 124.89 million, Century Bank with Rs 74.22 million and Laxmi Bank with Rs 101.04 million posted high profit growth in the Q1 balance sheets compared with the corresponding time of the fiscal 2014-15. Five commercial banks, however, reported a drop in their profit amount — Grand Bank, Kumari Bank, Janata Bank, Civil Bank and Century Bank — in the first quarter of the fiscal 2015-16. Grand Bank — the lowest profit earner in the review period — has minimised its loss and posted profit worth Rs 16.66 million in the review period. Grand Bank was in loss of Rs 280.63 million in Q1 of the previous fiscal. Likewise, Kumari Bank made a profit of Rs 48.68 million, which is a growth of 48.25 per cent compared with its profit during the corresponding period of previous fiscal. In fact, none of the commercial banks landed in the red during the review period.