Kathmandu. It is said that the merger process between Nepal Investment and Himalayan Bank has reached the final stage to become the largest bank in Nepal. Although the process of signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the merger has moved forward, there has been some delay in the last few days due to 'some work remaining'.

For the merger, both the banks have done asset and liability assessment (DDA). DDA has submitted the report to the concerned bank so that the share ratio of both the banks is equal to 1.

"DDA has issued a share valuation of Rs. Given, there will be a merger soon, 'said a Himalayan Bank source.

Sources claim that it has been agreed that Prithvi Bahadur Pandey will be the chairman of Nepal Investment Bank after the merger. The chief executive officer (CEO) will have two members. It has been agreed that Ashok Shamsher Rana, CEO of Himalayan Bank and Jyotiprakash Pandey, CEO of Nepal Investment Bank will be the CEO of the bank after the merger.

It has also been agreed to name the bank after the merger as Himalayan Investment Bank. Although the management of both the banks and the promoter have agreed for the merger, there has been some delay in how to manage the investment of government-invested employees' provident fund and citizen investment fund, said a source.

The share capital of the investment bank is Rs 29.55 billion (as per the unrevised financial statement of mid-December last year) while the bank has lent and invested Rs 138.19 billion. Similarly, the bank has collected Rs. 166.35 billion in deposits during the period.

Himalayan Bank has 65 branches in Kathmandu Valley with 18 branches and 47 outside Kathmandu Valley. Similarly, there are 43 ATM booths in Kathmandu Valley and 29 outside the Kathmandu Valley.

Himalayan Bank has made loans and investments of Rs. 109.77 billion (as per the unaudited financial statements up to mid-December last year). During the same period, the bank has Rs. 129.92 billion in public deposits and Rs. 17.68 billion in assets.

After the merger, the public will have around Rs 3 billion in deposits and loans and investments of around Rs 250 billion. The shareholder's assets in the bank appear to be around Rs 47 billion.