Nepal’s commercial banks still have room to issue around Rs 120 billion in share loans, even after the central bank removed the single-client limit earlier this month.
On Ashwin 22, Nepal Rastra Bank removed the Rs 25 crore cap that limited how much a single borrower could take in share-backed loans from all banks combined.
This change was based on the recommendation of the Capital Market Reform Taskforce, which aimed to boost liquidity and investor confidence in the market.
Under the new rule, banks can now lend up to 40% of their core capital as margin loans.
Nepal Rastra Bank’s latest report shows that, by the end of Shrawan 2082, financial institutions had issued about Rs 144 billion in share loans.
Out of this, commercial banks (Class A) accounted for Rs 120 billion, while development and finance companies (Class B and C) added another Rs 24 billion.
The combined core capital of 20 commercial banks currently stands around Rs 600 billion.
This means they can lend up to Rs 240 billion in total share loans — leaving them with roughly Rs 120 billion more capacity.
Which banks have the most room left?
Nabil Bank tops the list in terms of issued margin loans, followed by Global IME Bank and Kumari Bank.
However, Nepal Investment Mega Bank (NIMB) leads in loan capacity, with room to lend Rs 17.47 billion more.
At the bottom, Siddhartha Bank (SBL) has just Rs 0.78 billion in remaining capacity.
Table: Margin Loan Capacity of Nepali Commercial Banks (as of Shrawan 2082)
| SN | Bank | Margin Loan (Million) | Core Capital (Million) | 40% Limit (Million) | Remaining Capacity (Million) | Capacity (Arba) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NBL | 7528.06 | 24341 | 9736.4 | 2208.34 | 2.20 |
| 2 | RBB | 6198.04 | 30037 | 12014.8 | 5816.76 | 5.82 |
| 3 | Nabil | 16577.09 | 51029 | 20411.6 | 3834.51 | 3.83 |
| 4 | NIMB | 3247.75 | 51787 | 20714.8 | 17467.05 | 17.47 |
| 5 | SCB | 0 | 20710 | 8284 | 8284 | 8.28 |
| 6 | HBL | 2810.18 | 25103 | 10041.2 | 7231.02 | 7.23 |
| 7 | NSBI | 623.76 | 18127 | 7250.8 | 6627.04 | 6.63 |
| 8 | EBL | 3550.28 | 28112 | 11244.8 | 7694.52 | 7.69 |
| 9 | NICA | 2094.91 | 22784 | 9113.6 | 7018.69 | 7.01 |
| 10 | MBL | 2659.99 | 16833 | 6733.2 | 4073.21 | 4.07 |
| 11 | KBL | 11250.97 | 31134 | 12453.6 | 1202.63 | 1.20 |
| 12 | LSL | 8228.09 | 37037 | 14814.8 | 6586.71 | 6.58 |
| 13 | SBL | 9767.24 | 26380 | 10552 | 784.76 | 0.78 |
| 14 | ADBL | 5332.16 | 32977 | 13190.8 | 7858.64 | 7.86 |
| 15 | GBIME | 12898.51 | 56040 | 22416 | 9517.49 | 9.52 |
| 16 | CZBIL | 6761.75 | 20093 | 8037.2 | 1275.45 | 1.27 |
| 17 | PCBL | 9699.83 | 28342 | 11336.8 | 1636.97 | 1.64 |
| 18 | NMB | 2786.07 | 28012 | 11204.8 | 8418.73 | 8.42 |
| 19 | PRVU | 5840.61 | 31366 | 12546.4 | 6705.79 | 6.70 |
| 20 | Sanima | 2757.35 | 19762 | 7904.8 | 5147.45 | 5.15 |
The removal of the loan limit gives banks more flexibility to lend and potentially inject fresh liquidity into the stock market.
If market sentiment improves, this could support a mild recovery in NEPSE, which has been struggling in recent weeks.
But for now, both banks and investors seem to be waiting for clear signals political stability, policy consistency, and a spark to bring back confidence.
