Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Commercial banks have independently set new interest rates after voluntarily agreeing to scrap the interest rate cartel.
The Nepal Bankers Association (NBA), a representative body of CEOs of commercial banks, agreed to abolish the interest rate cartel that it had enforced under the guise of a ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ on Thursday. As a result of this cartel, all 20 commercial banks currently have the same interest rate on fixed deposits, which is 9.99%.
The Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) allows commercial banks to change interest rates by a maximum of one percentage point. This means that banks can lower or increase rates by a maximum of one percentage point, or they can keep the rate unchanged.
Out of the 20 commercial banks in the country, Himalayan Bank, Global Bank Ltd, Laxmi Sunrise Bank Ltd, and Citizens Bank Ltd have kept their rates unchanged. Nepal Investment Mega Bank Ltd has not yet published its new rates.
However, NIC Asia Bank Ltd and Nabil Bank have increased their interest rates to 10.936% and 10.49%, respectively. Prime Commercial Bank and NMB Bank Ltd have raised their rates to 10.93% and 10.98%, respectively, while Kumari Bank Ltd has slightly increased its rates to 10.01%.
Rastriya Banijya Bank Ltd, Nepal Bank Ltd, and Prabhu Bank Ltd have lowered their rates by one percentage point to 8.99%. Similarly, Nepal SBI Bank has reduced its interest rate to 9.1%, and Machhapuchhre Bank Ltd and Everest Bank Ltd have revised their rates downwards to 9%. Standard Chartered Bank Nepal Ltd, Siddhartha Bank Ltd, Sanima Bank Ltd, and Agricultural Development Bank Ltd have reduced their rates to 9.95%, 9.5%, 9.52%, and 9.51%, respectively.
The new rates will come into effect from Monday.
