With the domestic stock market going through a bearish run over the last one year, there has been a big decline in the income of commercial banks from share trading. Banks' income from share trading has decreased by 31.60 percent in the first half of the current fiscal year. As per the unaudited financial reports of 22 commercial banks for the second quarter, they have earned Rs 2.99 billion in income from share trading till mid-January of FY 2022/23, which is Rs 1.91 billion less than in the same period of FY 2021/22. Commercial banks earned Rs 4.37 billion from share trading in the first half of the last fiscal year. Bankers say income from share trading declined as the stock market has been in the bear territory for over the last one year. In the first half of FY 2021/22, the stock market had a bullish run with the Nepse Index reaching an all-time high of 3198.19 points. As the market was on an upward trend, banks managed to earn high profits by trading shares.

In the first six months of the current fiscal year, Standard Chartered Bank earned the highest income from share trading. The bank has earned Rs 264.1 million from share trading. The Global IME Bank is in second place with Rs 262.2 million. Likewise, Nabil Bank is in third place with Rs 256.5 million. In terms of income from share trading, Nepal Bank is in the last place with Rs 27.4 million.

While the average share trading income of banks has decreased in this fiscal, three banks have recorded growth. Rastriya Banijya Bank (RBB), Machhapuchhre Bank, and Nepal SBI Bank have recorded growth in their income from share trading. The RBB's share trading income has increased by 464 percent in FY 2022/23. In the first six months of FY 2021/22, the RBB had only Rs 32 million from share trading. The bank has earned Rs 198.7 million in this fiscal year. Likewise, the income of Machhapuchhre Bank from share trading has increased by 20 percent this year. The bank earned Rs 144.41 million in the first half of the last fiscal which increased to Rs 172.9 million in this fiscal. Nepal SBI Bank's income has also increased by 42 percent. The bank, which earned Rs 115.8 million from share trading in the first half of the last fiscal, earned Rs 164.2 million in this fiscal.