Kathmandu: The Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has issued the monetary policy for the upcoming fiscal year 2082/83 (2025-26). Unveiling the monetary policy, the Governor of the Central Bank, Dr. Biswo Nath Poudel, stated that a flexible policy has been adopted cautiously.
According to National News Agency Nepal, the monetary policy outlines the approval and implementation of the second financial sector strategy. The bank rate, which serves as the upper limit of the interest rate corridor, has been set at six per cent, and the policy rate at four and a half per cent. These rates were previously set at 6.5 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively.
The policy introduces several significant changes, including an increase in the limit for loans issued for the construction and purchase of private residential houses from Rs 20 million to Rs 30 million. For the construction or purchase of a first house, a loan-to-value ratio of up to 80 per cent is permissible, while for subsequent houses, a maximum ratio of 70 per cent is to be maintained.
Furthermore, the limit for personal share collateral loans has been raised from Rs 150 million to Rs 250 million. Additionally, the monetary policy has increased the amount that Nepalese travelers can carry abroad from two thousand five hundred to three thousand US dollars.
The policy sets a target to increase private sector loan disbursement by 12 per cent in the upcoming fiscal year.