Two big commercial banks- Global IME Bank, Janata Bank- merge

Kathmandu : Two big ‘A’ class commercial banks -Global IME Bank and Janata Bank- have officially merged into the Global IME Bank on Friday.

The Monetary Policy for the fiscal year 2019/20 has adopted the policy to encourage the merger and acquisition process for the banks and financial institutions (BFIs) with an objective to further strengthening their financial stability.

Following the merger, the Global IME Bank has become the biggest commercial banks in terms of capital, business and branch network in the country.

The Bank has now capital worth Rs 19 billion, total deposit over Rs 213 billion and total loan Rs 194 billion.

The Bank has more than 300 branches- all across 77 districts. It will have altogether 830 outlets- 259 ATM counters, 243 branchless banking services, 33 extensions and revenue collection counters and three foreign representatives’ offices and more than 3,000 staffs. 

Inaugurating the Global IME Bank following the merger in the federal capital on Friday, Finance Minister Dr Yubaraj Khatiwada reaffirmed that the incumbent government was going to overhaul the mechanism of country’s economy and the merger of the BFIs would add a new dimension to it.

Minister Khatiwada said, “May you move forward capitalizing on your strength and skills. The midterm and long term investment is further needed.”

Furthermore, the Minister expressed his confidence that merger of BFIs would go a long way into ensuring financial prosperity into the country since more big projects would get more investments injected  as the banks continue to get into bigger shapes. It would also increase the volume of the enterprises and industries further boosting the economy, he hoped.

“Nepal has been enlisted as the country with high economic development. The conducive environment for attracting more foreign investment is being enabled in the country,” he reminded. 

Invest in technology

The Minister further urged the banks to invest in technology. “If investment is not made in technology, the institution of any scale may face crisis. Now, the merger of Global IME and Janata Bank has no option but to invest in technology,” he insisted. He also urged the banks to bring in additional foreign investment.

On the occasion, Governor of Nepal Rastra Baank, Chiranjivi Nepal, expressed worry why the banks and financial institutions did not enhance the capacity of their staffs for smooth service delivery. He viewed that investment in technology could help face emerging challenges. The Governor urged the unified Global IME to heed the growing expectation of the depositors.

Chairman of Nepal Chamber of Commerce, Rajesh Kaji Shrestha, requested the banks and financial institutions to provide loan at low interest rate.

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