Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Commercial banks spent Rs 54.97 billion in staff expenses in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year.
This is a nominal 0.04% increase from such expenses in the same period of the previous fiscal year, according to the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB). Twenty commercial banks in the country spent Rs 53.04 billion on staff expenses over the first 11 months of 2024/25.
Staff expenses cover the overall financial costs required by banks to sustain their human capital. The expenses primarily include salaries and allowances, retirement and gratuity, leave encashment, capacity building and training, and medical and welfare, etc.
The Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) requires banks to spend at least 3% of their total personnel expenses on staff training and capacity building.
Data show Rastriya Banijya Bank incurred the highest staff expenses at Rs 4.54 billion in the review period, followed by Nabil Bank with Rs 3.76 billion. Global IME Bank and Laxmi Sunrise Bank spent Rs 3.75 billion each, while Nepal Bank reported staff expenses of Rs 3.70 billion.
At the lower end, Standard Chartered Bank Nepal reported the lowest staff expenses at Rs 960 million. Nepal SBI Bank was next with total expenses of Rs 1.54 billion, followed by Prime Commercial Bank at Rs 1.57 billion and Sanima Bank at Rs 1.59 billion.
Citizen International Bank posted the highest increase of 0.2% in staff expenses during the review period. The bank’s staff expenses went up from Rs 1.58 billion to Rs 1.9 billion during the review period. Everest Bank was next with a 0.19% growth in staff expenses, followed by Rastriya Banijya Bank (0.17%), Nabil Bank (0.13%), Nepal Bank (0.07%) and Sanima Bank (0.07).
In contrast, four banks reported a decline in their staff expenses. NMB Bank recorded the sharpest drop of 0.13, with its staff expenses falling from Rs 2.63 billion in mid-June last year to Rs 2.3 billion in mid-June 2026. NIC Asia Bank was next with a 0.09% drop in its staff expenses, followed by Kumari Bank (-0.08%) and Himalayan Bank (-0.01%).
