August 25: The banking sector of the country has expanded in higher rate in the last FY contradicting with a sluggish economy. It is apparent from the increased size of the deposits collected by commercial banks that also indicates the overall structure of the banking system. During the last FY, the commercial banks has collected 23 percent more deposit compared to the previous FY whereas the country’s economic growth rate has contracted to below 1 percent. 

The total deposits collected by the commercial banks during the previous FY 2071/72 were Rs 1454 billion which has increased to Rs 1789 billion in the last FY. Such deposits have increased by 9.5 percent after mid-April only. By the mid-April, the commercial banks had collected total deposit of Rs 1633 billion.

  
The deposit collections of the commercial banks have increased significantly after the devastating earthquake of the last year. The banks had launched various schemes attracting the depositors during the period. Moreover, customers deposited their savings in the bank due to security reasons after the earthquake. Furthermore, increase in deposits of the banks is also attributed to the narrow investable sector in the economy. 

However, analyst opined that the bank deposits have diverted to the bullish share market of the recent time.

In the last FY, government owned Rastriya Banijya Bank has collected the highest amount as deposits of Rs 146 billion which is 17.70 percent increase than the previous FY. During the previous FY, the bank had collected Rs 124 billion deposit. Similarly, Nabil Bank comes second with Rs 110 billion deposits collection which is 5.78 percent growth compared to the previous FY. 

Although Rastriya Banijya Bank has collected more deposit in terms of amount, NMB bank has logged the highest growth. During the period, the bank increased its deposit collection by 76 percent to Rs 64.78 billion.

Meanwhile, Janata Bank comes at the bottom in terms of deposit collection. The bank has collected Rs 24.06 billion total deposits.