Kathmandu. Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Executive Director Guru Prasad Poudel has said that around Rs 5.6 trillion loans have been disbursed to 1.96 million borrowers.

He said that there are around Rs 7 trillion deposits in the banking system at present while discussing the Issue of Bank and Financial Institutions Act, 2073 (BAFIA) in the Finance Committee. He said that the Rastra Bank has given priority to sectoral loans including agriculture, energy, small and medium enterprises and is running a concessional subsidy program targeting farmers and women.

The bill was registered in parliament in March 2018. The bills under consideration of the committee include legalising the use of digital currency and digital banking, seeking clarity on the responsibilities of those on the bank’s board of directors, and discouraging the tendency of taking big loans from banks that own shareholders themselves.

It is also expected that the bill will play an important role in making legal provisions for effective management and regulation of banks and financial institutions on the basis of national and internationally developed financial system, financial instruments, financial security and financial risk.