KATHMANDU: Finance Minister Surendra Pandey today assured heads of banks and financial companies that the new governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) would be able to to resolve the present financial crisis. He/she will have vision and plans to overcome the crisis, he said in an interaction organized by Independent Business News (IBN) here.

The economy is in crisis due to liquidity crunch, negative balance of payment (BoP) and increasing interest rates of financial institutions. According to NRB data, There is Rs 20.49 negative BoP while inflation is near two digits (9.9 per cent) in the fourth month of the current fiscal year. Banks’ lending rates has increased to 15 per cent with inter-bank lending reaching 14.03 per cent.

The new governor will tackle all these problems, he said adding innovative selection ideas will be welcomed by the government. “The new governor must be

capable of resolving the present financial crisis,” he said. “He/she should have crisis-resolving

capacity.” Finance Minister Pandey is coordinator of the committee commissioned to appoint a new governor. Current governor Bijaya Nath Bhattarai’s tenure edns on January 31.

Bankers have advised making a panel of experts for selecting the governor. “He/she should pass from a technical panel,” said Jhapad Bohara, president of Nepal Development Bank Association (NDBA). Ran Shanta Shrestha

of the association of finance companies in Nepal said, “We want

a professional person to be the new governor,” he said. Most of

the bankers and finance companies officials also agreed to the appointment of a professional to the post of governor.

Mega Bank’s new chief executive officer Anil Shah suggested

the new governor explore a five-year plan of economic development. “The new governor should be competent to take the economy on the right track,” he said. Dr Indra Humagai of Infrastructure Development Bank agreed with Shah’s view.

Hridya Raj Gautam, managing director of IBN, and officiating president of Nepal Bankers’ Association Ashok SJB Rana presented two papers on the current economic scenario and importance of the NRB governor in resolving the present financial crisis.