Kathmandu: Commercial banks have further reduced interest rates on deposits. According to the newly published rates for the month of Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September), the maximum interest rate on deposits has dropped by an average of 0.18 percentage points.
Out of the 20 commercial banks, eight banks cut their maximum deposit rates, while 12 kept them unchanged.
Standard Chartered Bank, which had raised deposit rates in the month of Shrawan (mid-July to mid-August), made the sharpest reduction for Bhadra.
For short-term fixed deposits, most banks are now offering below 5 percent interest. For deposits of more than two years, banks are offering between a minimum of 5 percent and a maximum of 6.25 percent.
NIC Asia Bank, which has the highest base rate, will offer a maximum of 6.25 percent on individual fixed deposits of five years or more. NMB Bank will provide 6 percent on deposits of five years or more, while Global IME and Machhapuchhre banks will offer 6 percent on deposits longer than three years.
Prime Commercial Bank is offering 6 percent for deposits of over two years, while Himalayan Bank is offering the same for deposits of 5–10 years. These five banks have not changed their maximum rates compared to last month.
Everest Bank, however, cut its maximum rate. It had offered 6.25 percent in Shrawan, but for Bhadra, it lowered the rate by 0.5 percentage points to 5.75 percent on deposits over five years.
Sanima Bank also reduced its rate from 6.18 percent to 5.75 percent (down by 0.43 percentage points) for deposits over five years. Nabil Bank is offering 5.5 percent on deposits above five years, while Rastriya Banijya Bank is providing the same rate for deposits above two years. Citizens Bank also offers 5.5 percent for deposits longer than two years, unchanged from last month.
Siddhartha Bank cut its rate from 5.57 percent in Shrawan to 5.5 percent for deposits above two years. Nepal Bank published a rate of 5.4 percent for deposits above five years, keeping it unchanged. Prabhu Bank also kept its rate the same at 5.35 percent for deposits above ten years.
Nepal SBI Bank reduced its maximum fixed deposit rate from 5.35 percent to 5.25 percent for deposits longer than three years. Nepal Investment Mega Bank kept its maximum fixed deposit rate unchanged at 5.25 percent for deposits over two years. Kumari Bank lowered its maximum rate by 0.4 percentage points to 5.21 percent for deposits above two years.
Standard Chartered made the steepest cut, slashing its maximum rate from 6.26 percent to 5.13 percent (down by 1.13 percentage points) for deposits over five years. Laxmi Sunrise Bank also reduced its maximum fixed deposit rate from 5.5 percent to 5 percent (down by 0.5 percentage points) for deposits longer than five years.
Earlier in the month of Asar (mid-June to mid-July), the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) had reduced all rates within the interest rate corridor through its new monetary policy, prompting banks to lower deposit rates in Shrawan. The declining trend continued into Bhadra as well. In its 2025/26 monetary policy, the central bank reduced the bank rate from 6.5 percent to 6 percent, the policy rate from 5 percent to 4.5 percent, and the deposit collection rate from 3 percent to 2.75 percent.
With the reduction of the deposit collection rate, which serves as the floor rate, banks also lowered their minimum savings deposit rates. Since NRB offers standing deposit facilities at this rate, banks cannot set savings interest below it. As a result, when the deposit collection rate stood at 3 percent, minimum savings interest also fell below 3 percent. With the central bank lowering the policy rate, banks now have more room to reduce interest rates further.
Along with savings deposits, fixed deposit rates have also been cut. The base rates of two commercial banks have already fallen below 5 percent. If rates continue to decline, loan costs are expected to fall even further.
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