Next two years for consolidation: Prithivi Bahadur Pande (CEO)

KATHMANDU, FEB 26 -

After establishing Nepal Investment Bank Limited (NIBL) as the country’s leading commercial bank, Prithivi Bahadur Pande, the bank’s chairman and chief executive director, said on Friday that the next two years would be a time for consolidation of the bank.

NIBL is commemorating its 25 years of operations this year. Set up as the Nepal Indosuez Bank Limited in 1986 with investments by a French entity, the Indosuez Bank Group, Rastriya Banijya Bank, Rastriya Beema Sansthan and public shareholders, the bank’s management was handed over to Nepali investors in 2002. It was subsequently rebranded to NIBL. Over the last nine years after it became a wholly Nepali-owned bank, its capital base grew to Rs 2.4 billion from Rs 170 million. The number of branches swelled to 41 from six and its customer base soared to 400,000 from just 25,000, according to NIBL. Its deposit base increased to Rs 48 billion from Rs 4 billion and credit issue rose to Rs 40.95 billion from Rs 2.7 billion in 2002.

NIBL has been a trendsetter when it comes to introducing innovative banking products. It was the first bank to launch Visa debit cards, online utility bill payments and telephone bill payments services. NIBL, that paid a tax of Rs 540 million, is ranked as the number one taxpayer amongst all Nepali banks. “In the last 25 years, NIBL has paid around Rs 2.87 billion in taxes to the government,” said Pande. “ Of the Rs 2.87 billion, Rs 2.45 billion was paid since the acquistion of the bank by Nepali investors in 2002.”

With the central bank drafting merger bylaws with a provision for forceful mergers, Pande said that he was not in favour of forceful merger of banks and financial institutions. “A merger may be successful only if the shareholders on both sides feel they will benefit from it,” he said. The bank said that it is involved in different social service programmes like providing assistance to the Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust for heritage conservation, Pashupati Briddashram and Bhutanese refugees. It has also supported an Everest clean-up campaign.

Posted on: 2011-02-26 09:13
http://www.ekantipur.com/2011/02/26/business/next-two-years-for-consolidation-pande/330156.html