Chief Executive Officer of Citizens Bank International Rajan Singh Bhandari has said that the lending made by the commercial banks in real estate sector was secure. "All the banks have managed their risk effectively with regard to their investment in the real estate sector," he said at a press meet on Monday. There is around 20 percent loan exposure of banks to real estate sector. Bhandari said his bank's exposure stands at 31 percent. Nepal Rastra Bank capped the lending in the sector ruling that the commercial banks were required to bring down their exposure to the sector to 40 percent of total loan outstanding within the current fiscal year. He was also of the view that the liquidity crisis in the banking sector was real and this situation had been the major reasons of recent hikes in interest rates. "We are also going to adjust interest beginning from mid-January," he said. Meanwhile, the Bank launched a new saving scheme called 'Super Saving Scheme' under which the depositors would get seven percent interest on daily reserve. The depositors can open account with minimum reserved deposit of Rs. 200,000, said the bank in a press release. The depositors will be entitled ATM cards and cheque books free of cost and will also get discount on locker facility, travelers' cheque, demand draft and free of cost internet and SMS banking facilities under this scheme, the bank said.
Source: Kathmandu Post