Kathmandu. Loans from banks and financial institutions to the private sector increased by 23.8 percent in a year. According to Nepal Rastra Bank, the credit flow of banks and financial institutions to the private sector has increased by 10 percent in the first ten months of the current fiscal year as compared to April / May of the previous fiscal year.

Such loans had increased by 11.1 percent in the corresponding period of the previous year. On a year-on-year basis, credit to private sector from banks and financial institutions increased by 24.8 percent in mid-April of the current fiscal year.

Of the credit to private sector, credit to commercial banks increased by 24.1 percent, credit to development banks by 25.3 percent and credit to finance companies by 8.6 percent during the review period.

During the same period, 65.9 percent of the total loans disbursed by banks and financial institutions were secured by real estate and 12.4 percent by current assets (agricultural and non-agricultural goods). In the corresponding period of the previous year, the ratio of loans to such collateral was 65.4 percent and 13.2 percent respectively.