V.No. In 2074, Nepal Rastra Bank adopted a policy of opening at least one branch of commercial banks at all local levels of the country. After opening 752 local level bank branches for a long time, only one local level remained. A new question was born in the question paper of the examination to be taken in the banking sector: 'Which local level of Nepal has not yet reached a branch of a commercial bank?' But now this question will not be asked. Because, with the inauguration of the branch of Everest Bank Ltd. by Nepal Rastra Bank Governor Mahaprasad Adhikari on 28th January 2081 in Saipal Rural Municipality, bank branches have reached all the local levels of the country.

Reaching a bank branch at a place called Dhalaun of Saipal rural municipality is an achievement in itself. After a three-hour jeep journey from Bajhang's headquarters, Chainpur, you will reach a rural village called Dhawanat, and after walking for 7 to 8 hours, you will reach a place called Dhalaun. The headquarter of Saipal rural municipality is at a place called Kanda. To reach from Dhalaun to Kanda, you have to walk for another 6 to 7 hours . Therefore, this time the branch was opened in Dhalaun instead of opening a branch in Kanda, the headquarter of Saipal.

Saipal Rural Municipality, located in the northern part of Bajhang district, occupies more than 40 percent of the district's territory. The northern border of the municipality is connected to China. The name of this municipality came from the name of Saipal Himal. According to the National Census 2078, there is no bank branch in this municipality, which has a population of 2,625, so one had to walk for about 2 days to reach the district headquarters, Chainpur.

If you ask the local people's representative to know how much they have to suffer and how much they have to be helpless due to lack of access to banks and financial institutions, they will know . In today's society, there should be no doubt that the economy without banks is very difficult and challenging. Locals are happy to reach a bank branch in Saipal. The public representative still says that if the bank can reach Kanda, the headquarters of the municipality, it will smell like gold.

One of the main objectives of Nepal Rastra Bank is to develop the banking system in Nepal and to provide access to the financial system throughout the country. For this purpose, the National Bank V.No. In 2025, the Banking Promotion Committee was opened and adopted the policy of bringing commercial bank branches to seventy-five districts. In the beginning, the National Bank established a fund of 25 lakhs and conducted a survey to open a bank branch in every district. When imagining the situation of Nepal at that time, how critical it is  It can be easily guessed that it was.

Weak financial awareness, difficult geography where it is impossible to go from the east to the west within the country, when a large part of the population is not even literate, there were mountains of challenges in front of the Rashtra Bank to bring bank branches to every district . But at least one bank branch was not provided in every district . Therefore, the National Bank has adopted the policy of incurring the loss of the first year of the new branch . Commercial banks were encouraged to open branches due to the policy of bearing losses up to 100% initially for 3 years and then up to 100, 75, 50, 25 and 10% respectively for 5 years .

Besides, Nepal Bank, National Commercial Bank and Agricultural Development Bank were the only ones that did not do commercial banking. At that time, the policy of not allowing the newly opened branch to lack working capital was also adopted . Such executive capital was to be paid up to 2 lakhs to be paid within three years of the opening of the bank branch . Finally in June 2034 all the then  Branches of commercial banks reached all 75 districts. Under the policy of taking losses in this work, Rastra Bank had incurred a loss of 75 lakh 51 thousand till June 2037 . In addition to that, under the policy of preventing lack of working capital in banks, until June 2037, commercial banks 75 lakh 25 thousand was provided . Under this program, a total of 241 commercial bank branches were opened across the country till June 2037. In which 154 bank branches were opened in rural areas and 87 bank branches in urban areas.

As of June 2073, there were a total of 1,869 branches of commercial banks in Nepal (many branches were concentrated in Saharbazar). Comparing these branches to the population at that time, there used to be one commercial bank branch for every 15,000 people. Considering this topic, V. No. In 2074, the National Bank adopted a policy of opening at least one branch of a commercial bank at all local levels. By June 2074, out of 753 local levels in the country, about 40 percent i.e. 296 local levels had commercial bank branches. This policy taken at that time was a strategic decision not only in terms of financial inclusion but also in other ways. But to open branches of banks and financial institutions at any location, minimum physical infrastructure such as electricity, water, roads, security, and internet is required.

Rashtra Bank was well aware that the above-mentioned minimum infrastructure is not available in all the local levels of the country . However, it was necessary to make this decision in terms of providing financial services throughout the country and supporting the federal structure embraced by the recently released constitution. But as it will not be effective if only instructions are given to open bank branches at all local levels without physical infrastructure including security, the National Bank has instructed the commercial banks to submit a plan to open bank branches in a proportionate manner at all local levels .

requested the government of Nepal to arrange the necessary infrastructure at the location where the bank branch will be opened. In this regard, Nepal Rastra Bank issued a circular on 14 Chait 2074 and issued instructions to open branches in the remaining locations based on the plans received from commercial banks. In that directive, commercial banks were issued instructions to open branches in 243 more local levels by May 2075 and 116 more branches by June of the same year, specifying the name of the commercial bank and the name of the local level where the branch should be opened. Finally, in June 2075, commercial bank branches reached 631 out of 753 local levels.

Even on the last date given to open bank branches at all local levels, 22 percent of branches were yet to be opened in Koshi, while in Madhesh, Bagmati, Gandaki, Lumbini, Karnali and Sudurpaschim, 12, 11, 15, 10, 46 and 40 percent of bank branches had not reached . In this way, the lack of coordination of the local government in some places and the lack of infrastructure such as roads, lights, and internet in many places were the main reasons for the non-opening of branches, rather than the banks and financial institutions. But if the National Bank continued to advise banks and financial institutions to open branches, it continued to request the Government of Nepal to provide infrastructure. Finally, by October 2076, commercial bank branches reached 739 local levels, but 14 local levels remained bankless even then.

By June 2077, only 6 local levels of the country remained out of reach of bank branches. Similarly, by June 2078, only Ruvi Valley Rural Municipality of Dhading, Junichande Rural Municipality of Jajarkot and Saipal Rural Municipality of Bajhang remained out of reach of the branch. Nepal Rastra Bank has been in constant contact with the local government and commercial banks to reach branches at all levels. But one thing was easy, Nepal Rastra Bank already knew which bank to go to at the rest of the local level. Rather than the slowness of the concerned bank, it was due to the infrastructure at the concerned local level that the bank branch did not reach. As an initiative of the concerned local level, Rashtra Bank and the Government of Nepal to provide infrastructure at the local level, commercial bank branches reached all local levels except Saipal rural municipality of Bajhang in 2079.