The officials of Confederation of Banks and Financial Institutions Nepal (CBIFIN) met with a team from International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday and discussed the current economic situation of Nepal.
The visiting delegation of IMF was led by Jarkko Turunen, Deputy Division Chief and Mission Chief for Cambodia in the Asia and Pacific Department (APD) of IMF.
Also present in the meeting were Teresa Daban Sanchez, IMF Resident Representative to Nepal; IMF-Washington DC; Russell A Green, Senior Economist at IMF, Washington, US; CBIFIN Vice President Rajesh Upadhyay, Secretary General Rajan Singh Bhandari, Executive Member Radhesh Pant, and Director General Gopal Prasad Tiwari.
At the meeting, Head of the mission, Turunen, said that he has come to Nepal to review the current state of Nepal’s economy and consult with the stakeholders on post-Covid scenarios.
CBFIN representatives presented information to the IMF representatives on various issues such as imports, liquidity problems and their effects, shrinking profits of banks and financial institutions (BFIs), decline in the capital market, the implementation of Bank and Financial Institutions Act (BAFIA) system that can convert founder shares into ordinary shares, the increase in non-performing loans, interest rates, and lack of loanable capital.
The IMF representatives informed that they will study the current economic difficulties in Nepal and prepare a report.
During the meeting held at CBFIN office in Sundhara, Kathmandu, the IMF representatives said the discussion was meaningful and that the IMF will continue its discussions and cooperation with CBFIN on various issues in the financial and banking sector in the future.
