Kathmandu, January 29 The collective profit of commercial banks in first half of current fiscal increased by 10.36 per cent compared to the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. The 28 commercial banks in operation generated total profit worth Rs 23 billion in the first half of 2017-18 compared to Rs 20.85 billion in the same period of 2016-17, as per the unaudited financial reports published by commercial banks. The profit of commercial banks in the first half was a marked improvement when compared to dismal three per cent profit growth witnessed in first quarter of this fiscal. However, the profit growth of commercial banks has been squeezed over the year. The profit growth of commercial banks stood at above 40 per cent in the first half of last fiscal compared to the same period of the fiscal 2015-16. Nepal Investment Bank Ltd was the top profit maker in the review period as it generated profit worth Rs 1.86 billion. It was followed by Nabil Bank with total profit worth Rs 1.83 billion, government-owned Rastriya Banijya Bank (Rs 1.78 billion), Nepal Bank (Rs 1.63 billion) and Everest Bank (Rs 1.14 billion), as per the financial statements published by the commercial banks. Altogether nine banks generated profit above Rs one billion. Apart from aforementioned top five profit makers, Himalayan Bank, Agricultural Development Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and NMB Bank made it to the ‘billionaires club’ in first half. The total profit of nine ‘billionaire’ banks had 53.7 per cent weightage on the total profit of the banks. Similarly, Civil Bank, Janata Bank, Century Bank, NCC Bank and Mega Bank ranked at the bottom five in terms of profit generation during the review period. In the review period, eight banks landed in the red zone in terms of profit growth. These included Prabhu Bank, NIC Asia Bank, Nepal Bangladesh Bank, Nepal Bank, Machhapuchchhre Bank, Bank of Kathmandu, Sunrise Bank, Citizens Bank International, as per the financial results till the second quarter of the current fiscal year. Likewise, Nepal Credit and Commerce (NCC) Bank was the forerunner in terms of profit growth in the first half of fiscal. Profit growth of NCC Bank stood at a staggering 356.7 per cent, followed by Kumari Bank (71 per cent), Janata Bank (68 per cent), Rastriya Banijya Bank (46 per cent) and Century Bank (45 per cent), compared to the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. First half results Banks 2016-17 2017-18 Nepal Investment 1,584,967 1,860,000 Nabil 1,747,944 1,830,000 Rastriya Banijya 1,217,734 1,780,000 Nepal Bank 1,895,077 1,630,000 Everest 971,576 1,140,000 Himalayan 1,027,879 1,100,000 Agricultural Development 906,689 1,020,000 Standard Chartered 740,146 1,010,000 NMB 701,079 1,000,000 Global IME 906,209 954,200 Nepal SBI 758,725 913,000 Sanima 622,411 824,784 Siddhartha 726,036 772,817 Prime 559,718 715,128 Prabhu 1,112,328 634,960 Citizens 631,668 628,600 Sunrise 609,709 594,290 NIC Asia 721,404 572,110 BoK 601,449 551,530 Laxmi 406,394 519,270 Kumari 279,354 480,200 Machhapuchchhre 575,311 471,870 Nepal Bangladesh 540,629 438,000 Mega 370,910 393,650 Nepal Credit & Commerce 77,619 354,520 Century 223,935 325,100 Janata 161,347 271,700 Civil 167,339 219,770 Figures in Rs '000; Source: Unaudited financial reports of commercial banks