Event–1

On November 15, the cadres of medical entrepreneur Durga Prasain grabbed the property auctioned by NIC Asia Bank’s Butwal branch. The bank has accused the bank of auctioning the property worth Rs 40 crore for Rs 10 crore.

Event–2

In April 2081, Prasain’s cadres had vandalized two banks in Jhapa.

A group of angry people had vandalized the bank by pelting stones during a rally at Birtamod as part of the campaign to save the nation, nationality, religion, culture and citizens led by Prasain. At that time, it was taken out by the Citizen Youth Squad. Some of the participants had also pelted stones at the Everest Bank and Jyoti Bikas Bank branches in Birtamode.

Event–3

In November 2080, Prasain’s cadres had tried to kidnap the employees of Nepal Investment Mega Bank. They had tried to kidnap Dinesh Paneru, second man of Birtamode branch of Nepal Investment Mega Bank, from his office saying that the bank had not given him a loan. Police had arrested Durga Prasain’s cadres after they tried to kidnap him.

The three cases mentioned above are just examples. Prasai himself has not been attacking banks and financial institutions time and again. They are making statements to spread disinformation towards banks and financial institutions.

A few days ago, the banking sector was asked for donations through a letter from the organization called Nation, Nationality, Religion, Culture and Citizen Save Campaign, which he led. However, Prasai was arrested by police last week for his remarks against the government. Prasai was released from custody on Sunday.

Announcing the protest from November 7, Prasain’s group had donated money to banks and financial institutions, educational institutions, industries and businesses. However, the agitation by Prasain’s cadres has been suspended. Prasain’s cadres had written in a letter to collect donations from the banking sector to support the nationwide agitation. This letter had caused a lot of panic in the banking sector. After Prasain sent a letter to the bank, the banks were in a dilemma whether to give the donation or not.

Such activities of Prasain have been obstructing the recovery of loans of banks and financial institutions for a long time. Bankers have complained that the agitation led by Prasai and the anarchic incidents related to it have pushed the banking sector towards further crisis. Bankers on condition of anonymity say that the recent vandalism of bank branches by his supporters, threats to employees and pressure in the name of borrower protection have seriously affected the loan recovery process of the banks.

Most bankers do not want to talk about this chaos being done by Prasain’s workers. Due to Prasain’s statement and actions, the banking sector is feeling a kind of ‘threat’. “Now we will talk about Prasain,” says a banker, “Tomorrow his cadres will come and create a threat on the bank.” ’

In view of the current peace and security, the bankers do not want to speak against Prasain’s excesses. You are in a state of silence.

At a time when the banking sector is in the trap of non-performing loans, bankers believe that Prasain’s name has pushed the banking sector towards further crisis. At present, the ratio of non-performing loans in the banking sector is increasing due to the anarchy of Prasain. Bankers say that Prasain’s statement and the behavior of his cadres have pushed the banking sector back due to the slowdown in the economy due to Corona.

“The country was trying to return to normalcy from the economy stalled due to Corona,” says a banker, “But now the various agitations and attacks on the private sector are pushing the country back. ’

According to the bankers, the weakening of the bank’s loan recovery means that the country’s economy is weak. “They openly tried to grab the property auctioned by the Butwal branch of NIC Asia Bank in the name of Prasain,” the banker said, “But no government agency has taken any action there.” It has also made the morale of the people who pay the loan with money not to repay. ’

According to the banks, many borrowers have withheld the installments due to the provocation of the Prasain group not to repay the loan, the publicity of the publicity of the bank loan repayment and the public defamation of the banks.

Their various activities have challenged the legal process, which has further reduced the loan recovery rate. “Loans were already weak due to the economic slowdown, now employees are afraid to go to the field due to threats and pressure,” says the CEO of a bank.

Nepal Police Spokesperson Abi Narayan Kafle said that although Prasai’s cadres had gone to the police about the anarchy in the past, no complaint has been lodged with the police about his activities against the banking sector.

According to the data released by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the average interest rate in the banking sector is currently 5.26 percent. In the first three months of the current fiscal year, the non-performing loan of commercial banks has reached an average of 5.05 percent. In the first three months of the last FY, the non-performing loan of commercial banks was 4.28 percent. Non-performing loans of commercial banks increased by 0.75 percent in a year.

Similarly, the non-performing loans of development banks and financial sector have also increased in the last one year, according to the NRB. In the first three months of the current fiscal year, the non-performing loan of the development bank stood at an average of 6.03 percent. In the last fiscal year, the non-performing loans of the sector increased by 1.66 percent.

Similarly, the non-performing loans of the financial sector have reached 12.52 percent in the first quarter of the current fiscal year. In the last fiscal year, the non-performing loan of the bank stood at 10.84 percent. According to the Nepal Rastra Bank, the non-performing loan (NPA) of the banking sector has increased by 1.68 percent in the last one year.

If such a movement grows in the country, it will increase the non-performing loans of the banking sector in the coming days.