Himal Press 
File photo of Lazimbat branch office of Rastriya Banijya Bank Ltd.
KATHMANDU: Banks and financial institutions spent Rs 39.89 billion on staff salaries and allowances in the first seven months of the current fiscal year 2025/26.
According to the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), spending on employees up to mid-February increased by 6.28% from Rs 37.53 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal year.
Commercial banks accounted for a lion’s share of staff expenses in the review period. Data show the country’s 20 commercial banks spent Rs 34.99 billion on salaries and allowances during the review period. In the same period of the previous fiscal year, staff expenses of commercial banks stood at Rs 33.03 billion.
Fifteen banks reported higher staff expenses during the review period, while five—NIC Asia Bank, Prabhu Bank, NMB Bank, Kumari Bank, and Standard Chartered Bank Nepal—reported a decline.
Among individual banks, the state-owned Rastriya Banijya Bank Ltd reported the highest staff expenses at Rs 2.89 billion—a 20.72% growth from Rs 2.39 billion in the first seven months of the previous fiscal year. same period last year. Nabil Bank followed with staff expenses of Rs 2.42 billion, up 23.93% year-on-year, while Global IME Bank ranked third with total spending of Rs 2.38 billion (up 5.23%).
In contrast, Standard Chartered Bank Nepal recorded the lowest staff expenditure among commercial banks at Rs 607.22 million, slightly down by 1.72% from Rs 617.8 million in the same period of the previous fiscal year.
Development banks also saw a rise in staff expenses. Seventeen development banks collectively spent Rs 3.89 billion on salaries and allowances by mid-February, compared to Rs 3.57 billion in the same period last fiscal year. Among them, Muktinath Bikas Bank had the highest staff expenses at Rs 787.22 million, while Narayani Development Bank reported the lowest at Rs 11.75 million.
Similarly, finance companies spent Rs 1.005 billion on employee salaries and benefits during the review period, up from Rs 920 million a year earlier. Manjushree Finance recorded the highest spending among finance companies at Rs 152.46 million, whereas Capital Merchant Finance posted the lowest at Rs 4.32 million.
