Experts in the financial sector have said that there is no need to fear the situation of Nepal's economy and banks as it is heard in the market. The speaker of the 'What's up with the bank?' session at the Ncell Foundation Nepal Literature Festival in Pokhara on Saturday said that there is no need to worry about the situation in Nepal's banking sector in a conversation with journalist Yagya Banjade.

Ashok Sherchan, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Prabhu Bank said that the situation of the bank is not as serious as it is heard in the market. The condition of the bank is a situation where you have to give it up to Citamol. There is no need to go beyond that," he added, "our banking is strong. Why is it that we are doing the monitoring of the central bank and the kind of strong policy, strategy and development according to the needs of the bank.' 

He claimed that businessmen are comfortable because the interest rate has decreased in the last month. But Sherchan said that he might not have come to take a loan without seeing the investment environment. He said that since the bank is looking for borrowers, if they take the proposal, there is no problem in investing in it. He pointed out that when the international organization Financial Action Task Force (FATF) puts Nepal on the 'grey list' of money laundering, it is likely to affect banks and businessmen.

 'We do business with banks and commercial houses of different countries during import-export. The view may be different,' Sherchan said, 'there is a possibility of charging more fees. There is a possibility that some countries will turn us away.'' He said that Nepal should look at the impact of being on the gray list and resolve it now. 

The chief executive officer of Krishi Bikas Bank, Govind Gurung, opined that accumulation of investable money and increase in bad loans is a challenge for the banking sector. He said that the issue of accumulated investable money should be taken positively if it can be utilized by making policy rules or strategies. The bank has 800 billion rupees that can be invested. The challenge is how it can be invested in the productive sector," he said. He asserted that the banking sector is not collapsing as bad loans are not more than 5 percent. However, he said that since bad loans are increasing every year, it is necessary to improve them.

He claims that even though the economy was slack during the covid period, it has improved now. "Last year and in 6 months of this year, all indicators are positive," he said, "Yesterday, the interest rate was 14 percent." He said that since the economy and the bank are interrelated, if one deteriorates, the other will also have a problem. 

Guru Prasad Paudel, Executive Director of Bank and Financial Institutions Regulation Department of Nepal Rastra Bank, said that it is necessary to create an investment environment to increase credit flow. After the production, the mechanism to take it to the market has not been developed. "Farmers have to produce, farmers have to sell and bear losses," he said. "There is also the issue of whether we can create an atmosphere of guarantee from the state." Paudel pointed out that one of the reasons for the lack of investment in the commercial sector is the open border. There is an open border. We can stop imports. By subsidizing neighboring countries, products produced at low cost from farmers and production areas come to the market," he added. "It is necessary to check whether the products produced at high prices can compete here." Participating in the