Kathmandu, July 12 : The deposit volume of the cooperatives especially in the urban areas has increased by 8.63 percent during the lockdown period triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The saving and credit cooperatives offer more interest rate than the banks and financial institutes. This has also resulted in the said rise in their deposits,” states a study carried out recently by the Department of Cooperatives.
According to the study, the liquidity, total assets and loan investment of the cooperatives also increased by 2.75 percent, 4 percent and 2 percent respectively during the lockdown. As such, their CD (credit deposit) ratio currently stands at just 75 percent.
“During the lockdown, not only the investment climate has deteriorated but also the vital economic sectors like service, manufacturing and import/export have been severely affected. In this context, the increased volume of deposits in the cooperative sector can well be mobilised as internal debt to help ameliorate the situation,” it further points out.
