Banking on a high in west

NEPALGUNJ: Banking transactions saw significant rise in the last few days in Nepalgunj and the adjoining districts in mid and far western Nepal.

Even in the hilly and mountainous north, where banking activities were almost nonexistent, commercial banks appear to be expanding their offshoots. Commercial banks, development banks and financial banks have accelerated the pace of opening their new branches in 18 different districts of the region, said the Nepal Rastra Bank, the central governing body of monetary policy. It also revealed that the banks’ deposit base had risen by 32 per cent and investment by 18 per cent this year as compared to those in the previous year. The deposit base of all banks rose to Rs 9.35 billion by mid-January. They have also invested Rs 5.5 billion the same year.

Of late, Banking activities in this region have witnessed a boom due to investment-friendly environment and improvement in trade and commerce activities.