Kathmandu, September 6:

Nepal Investment Bank Ltd (NIBL) has been awarded ‘Bank of the Year-2005’, a prestigious honour by the London-based Financial Times Group’s — The Ban-ker — making it the first Nepali bank to win the award two times in three years. It was awarded ‘Bank of the Year’ in 2003 also.

The bank was selected for this honour because it meets the stringent criteria set by The Banker. The award is based on the gro-wth and performance in terms of capital, assets, return on equity and management quality, states a press release. The net asset of the bank has increased to Rs 13 billion since the Nepali-management took over. It posted 32 per cent growth in its net profit and achieved the return on equity of 21 per cent during 2003-04. The bank’s NPA that stands at 1.64 per cent is one of the lowest in the Nepali banking industry. Commenting on the achievement, Prithivi Bahadur Pande, chairman and chief executive director, “NIBL endeavours to demonstrate that a Nepali bank can provide quality customer service and be the best.”

NIBL is the first bank to introduce Visa Electron Debit Card in Nepal and the first non-government bank to launch loan against gold and silver. It has so far issued over 25,000 cards making it the leader in the industry within a span of over one-and-a-half year.

The bank recently launched the ‘Premier Banking Cell’ that caters to its high net worth clients and renders consultancy services in taxation, legal, insurance and travel and tours. NIBL has also started a concept of ‘15 minute banking’ for the convenience of its customers.