Thursday 25th April 2024
The Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has initiated a number of relief measures to alleviate the burden of loan repayments for businesses and individuals impacted by COVID-19.
The NRB has instructed all the Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) to extend the repayment deadlines for all the loans from mid-April to mid-July.
The relief measures will be applicable for-
“The overall measures are positive. These decisions also aim to give a message that the central bank and the government is ready to ease liquidity and provide relaxation for those hit by the coronavirus pandemic,” said NBA President Bhuvan Kumar Dahal.
However, some financial experts claimed that the relief measures are not adequate to address the banking and financial tribulations incited by the coronavirus ‘pandemic’.
“This is an extraordinary situation which requires unconventional measures. However, the rate cuts announced by the NRB are not enough to address the current problem,” exclaimed Nara Bahadur Thapa, former Executive Director of the NRB.
[MUST READ: Education Loan in Nepal Eligibility]“It should have cut the CRR by further one percentage point, suspend credit to core capital cum deposit (CCD) ratio for a year and introduced term repo of two years to make credit easier and accessible for businesses,” he added.
So far, Nepal has reported five coronavirus infection cases. However, all the cases have a travel history to various coronavirus infected countries.
The coronavirus, which first appeared in China, has spread to every county in the world and has infected 785,855 people while claiming 37,826 lives.
