With just weeks remaining to submit capital hike plans to the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), commercial bank  promoters are lobbying for an extention of the deadline to meet the new paid-up capital requirement.

On Saturday, Civil Bank Chairman Icchha Raj Tamang, who is also a CPN (UML) lawmaker and promoter of a few other banks, met Parliamentary Finance Committee Chairman Prakash Jwala at Radisson Hotel in Kathmandu seeking the committee’s orders to extend the deadline and more facility for merger.

The NRB has hiked the paid-up capital requirements for banks and financial institutions by up to four folds. It has given the BFIs two years’ time to meet the requirements. The BFIs have to submit their capital increment plan by mid-September.

As per the central bank’s directive, commercial banks have to increase their capital to Rs8 billion from the current Rs2 billion, while development bank should raise their capital to Rs2.5 billion from Rs640 million and finance companies to Rs800 million from Rs200 million.

“They asked me to order the NRB to extend the deadline,” said Jwala, adding they also insisted the banks should not be forced to go for merger. “We will hold a meeting on this issue. Based on the sentiments of lawmakers, an appropriate decision could be taken.”

On Thursday, Tamang explained the committee the NRB’s policy could benefit some old banks, while affecting new ones. Another lawmaker Duman Singh Thapa, who is also the director of Mega Bank, had urged the NRB to introduce separate policies for old and new banks.

However, Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat urged the committee not to intervene in the matter.

He told the committee the central bank took the initiative after conducting an intensive study on the policy to streamline the country’s financial sector. “The Parliamentary committee should not intervene in the decision made by the autonomous body. The policy was announced through the monetary policy,” Mahat had said.