DHANGADHI: Fifty three local levels in the Province 7 are without banks. The province with 88 local levels has banks in only 35 local levels, said Nepal Rastra Bank.

According to Director at NRB Kiran Pandit, financial illiteracy and geographical challenges have hindered banks from establishing branches in all the local levels of the province. Bajhang district houses 11, highest number of local levels without banking facilities, Pandit informed.

Although Nepal government’s policy mandates the banking institutions to establish branches in all the local bodies of the country, the people in many local levels are deprived of banking facilities.

However, different banks have decided to set up operations in 27 locals levels of the Province while NRB has directed different banks to start branches in the remaining 26 local levels without banks.

Wide disparity in deposit-investment ratio

The investment channeled by financial institutions in Province 7 out-numbers the total deposits collected from the region, NRB statistics showed.

According to NRB, total investment by financial institutions till Dec-Jan of the current fiscal stood at Rs 71 billion whereas the BFIs collected Rs 46 billion in deposits.

Likewise, during a year the agricultural loans have increased by 61 per cent in the province and industrial loans have risen by 25 per cent.