August 24: Commercial banks have reported an increment of seven percentage points in the growth their business (net interest income) in the last FY compared to the year before.

The banks had reported a 5 percent growth in net interest income in FY 2013/14. During the last FY (2014/15), the annual growth rate increased by 7.25 percentage points to reach 12.25 percent.

According to figures released by the country’s 30 commercial banks, their net interest income for FY 2014/15 stood at Rs 52.27 billion.

The increment in the interest income has also helped increase profit for the banks. Compared to the previous year, the banks’ profit registered a growth of 32.46 percent to reach Rs 26.52 billion.

The year-end figures show that although deposits have expanded, credit has not expanded at the same rate. During the last FY it could be seen that even while maintaining the statutory C/D ratio, banks still had the money to invest Rs 300 billion. To address the situation, the central bank, from the last FY, has started taking deposits from commercial banks—this is the first time NRB started do so.