Kathmandu, 4 April: The five-year term of Nepal Rastra Bank Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari is ending this week. Addressing a press conference at the central office of the bank today, Governor Adhikari said that he has succeeded in maintaining the country’s economic stability by reforming monetary policy while facing the economic challenges arising from the COVID pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, and the supply crisis.
Governor Adhikari mentioned that the necessary policy reforms to reduce external pressure during his tenure have helped strengthen the country’s financial stability. He informed that there are currently foreign exchange reserves that can cover 14.4 months of imports and mentioned that he has succeeded in keeping inflation within the target by modifying monetary policies in a timely manner.
“The National Bank had implemented various concessional fiscal and monetary policies to mitigate the impact of the Covid pandemic,” he said. “A flexible policy was adopted to facilitate credit flow to banks and financial institutions in complex circumstances.”
He said that the flexible policy has had a positive impact on business operations and investment promotion and has also supported economic revival. To ensure financial stability, the regulation and supervision of banks and financial institutions have been strengthened and risk mitigation measures have been effectively implemented, Governor Adhikari said.
He said that there has been a significant growth in digital payment systems in the last five years, with the use of mobile banking, QR code payments, internet banking and digital wallets increasing significantly. “Electronic payment transactions have doubled in 2024/25 compared to the financial year 2020/21, which has helped promote digital financial inclusion,” he said.
Governor Adhikari said that with the growth of digital transactions, the central bank has also prioritized cybersecurity and adopted necessary policy and technological reforms. Similarly, he said that 116 policy arrangements have been formulated and implemented to make institutional reforms and work performance more effective. He mentioned that regulatory and supervisory methods in line with international practices have been implemented to strengthen the financial system and that special attention has been paid to the cyber security of financial institutions while adopting a policy to orient the banking system towards digitalization.
Stating that the reform journey of the National Bank will continue, he expressed confidence that the bank will continue to adopt effective policies in the coming days and contribute to the economic stability and prosperity of the country. At the program, Governor Adhikari also released a book prepared by the National Bank, which includes the major works and achievements completed by it in the past five years
