Two billion rupees of Army Welfare Fund at risk: NRB

Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has warned Nepali Army (NA) that big amount of its Welfare Fund deposits with various financial institutions are at risk and urged it to relocate such deposits to relatively safer places.

The Kantipur daily quoted a highly placed government source as saying that NRB Governor Bijaya Nath Bhattrai briefed army chief Rookmangud Katawal that aound two billion out of five billion deposited by NA in various financial institutions is at risk due to deteriorating condition of those financial institutions.

The NA has deposited Rs. 1.23 billion in different development banks and an additional Rs. 1.31 billion in different finance companies.

The paper also quoted Director at the Directorate of Public Relations of NA, Anant Bahadur Thebe as saying that the army is watching the performance of financial institutions that have its deposits and is committed to safeguarding those deposits.

“Deposits currently held by troubled financial institutions will be shifted to sounder institutions after the maturity period of those deposits,” Thebe added.

According to government source, some of the financial institutions that have huge deposits from the Welfare Fund have already hinted at their inability to return the deposits due to lack of cash. “Such financial institutions, which have huge bad loans in their portfolios, have requested the NA to renew the deposits.” nepalnews.com pb Dec 28 06

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