Banks face liquidity crunch Itahari, February 29: Private banks in Sunsari district are said to be facing liquidity crunch. They say they are unable to disburse cash to customers as Nepal Rastra Bank is unable to provide them enough hard currency notes due to Tarai bandh. Local branches of Everest Bank, Machhapuchhre Bank, Bank of Kathmandu, Nabil Bank and Kumari Bank are facing liquidity crunch. Everest Bank’s Itahari branch manager Ram Hari Acharya admitted the liquidity crunch. “Due to bandh and non-supply of hard currency notes, stocks are depleting,” he said, adding that business is hit due to bandh. “The staff are unable to go to Biratnagar to get cash,” Acharya said. He added that the bank has fixed a maximum amount at Rs 50,000 for withdrawal per customer. Kumari Bank’s Itahari staff said that the bank was better placed than the others. “However, business has plumetted by 50 per cent,” he said. “The bank told me that there was very little hard cash when I went to withdraw money,” said an Itahari-branch Nabil Bank customer adding that the bank has been shutting down after noon hour. A bank staff said that the bank is facing liquidity crunch. Nabil Bank’s Itahari branch manager Satish Dawadi, however, claimed that Nabil is not facing to much crisis though there is liquidity crunch. “The bank used to have daily transaction worth over Rs 30 million prior to bandh but it has gone down to Rs 15 million at present due to bandh,” he added. Customers of local branches of Rastriya Banijya Bank (RBB), Agriculture Development Bank (ADB) and Nepal Bank Ltd (NBL) also complain of the liquidity crunch. More than 10 remittance firms are also suffering due to the bandh. “What if the banks do not give us cash that we remit from abroad at the behest of our customers,” asked Prabish Shrestha, branch manager of Prabhu Money Transfer at Itahari. Several other remittance companies are also complaining of the liquidity crunch that has started taking toll on them. Scoffing at the claims of liquidity crunch, chief manager of Nepal Bank Biratnagar branch, Jagdishwar Adhikari said that they are supplying the hard currency notes according to the demands of banks. “How can there be a liquidity crunch,” he said, adding that cash was flown in on a chartered helicopter to meet the banks’ demands for cash. MGBB registers profit NEPALGUNJ: Madya-Paschimanchal Gramin Bikash Bank (MGBB) has been posting profit for the past three years. The bank has generated income of Rs 64,40,000 during the first six months of current fiscal year, acting executive chief at MGBB, Prabhakar Mishra said, adding that the bank established in 1994 has been in operation in Banke, Bardiya, Surkhet, Dang and Jumla districts. According to him, 669 centres, 4133 groups and 29457 individual are affiliated to it. “It has deposits worth Rs 7,68,63,000 under group savings and Rs 2,61,21,000 under individual and other savings,” he said. It has been providing various loans like project loan, livestock development loan and solar plant loan. — HNS