Global IME becomes the largest Nepali bank

Global IME Bank Limited has become Nepal's largest bank with the highest paid-up capital. With the successful completion of a merger, Global IME Bank and Bank of Kathmandu (BoK) began unified business on Monday as Global IME Bank. Post-merger, the bank has become the largest bank in the country in terms of total capital, paid-up capital, and business size. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal inaugurated the integrated business of the Global IME-BoK on Monday amid a function held in the capital. Global IME has been forefront when it comes to consolidation in the banking sector. As of now, the bank has merged 21 banks and financial institutions into it. Of them, five are commercial banks, 10 are development banks, and six are finance companies.

Addressing the inauguration of integrated business, Global IME Bank Chairman Chandra Prasad Dhakal said that the bank has been at the forefront when it comes to the implementation of Nepal Rastra Bank's merger policy. "Global IME Bank's success in the merger has encouraged other banks and financial institutions to merge," said Dhakal.

According to him, Global IME holds about 10 percent of the total market share in the Nepali banking sector post-merger. Stating that Global IME's ability to bear risks has also increased, Dhakal said, "I believe this merger will ease the difficulty of having to participate in many banks to raise investment in big projects." After the merger, the total capital of the bank has reached Rs 57 billion, while the paid-up capital is Rs 35.77 billion. The bank's total deposits and extension of loans stand at Rs 412 billion and Rs 377 billion, respectively. Speaking on the occasion, NRB Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari said that financial intermediation costs are decreasing as banks become bigger and stronger due to the mergers. "Banks now should remain self-regulated as they have become larger after the mergers," he said Adhikari. The central bank's board meeting on December 29 had given the final approval for the merger between Global IME Bank and Bank of Kathmandu. The central bank had directed both banks to come up with a new name, arguing that the proposed name 'Global IME BOK Limited' did not have the word 'bank' in it. Hence, both banks agreed to go with the name Global IME Bank post-merger. After the merger, the Chairman of the merged entity is Chandra Prasad Dhakal while Ratna Raj Bajracharya, current CEO of Global IME has continued in the post. The Global IME Bank, post-merger, will have a total of 365 branch offices, 367 ATMs, 286 branchless banking services, 61 extended branch offices, and three contact offices located abroad. Its customer base has increased to 4 million, making it the biggest in terms of customer size, well ahead of NIC Asia Bank which has 3.2 million customers.