Kathmandu: Investment by banks and financial institutions in margin lending against shares has risen significantly.
By the end (July 2025) of the fiscal year 2081/82 BS (2024/25), total investment in such loans stood at Rs 1.407 trillion, an increase of Rs 500 billion (56.17 percent) compared to Rs 900.9 billion at the end of the previous fiscal year 2080/81 (2023/24).
Finance companies posted a modest increase of 4.27 percent in share-backed lending. Their investment, which was Rs 41.5 billion a year earlier, reached Rs 43.5 billion by the end of the last fiscal year.
Development banks also recorded strong growth. Their margin loan portfolio rose from Rs 155.9 billion to Rs 195.4 billion during the review period, reflecting an increase of 25.31 percent.
Commercial banks, however, saw the steepest rise. From Rs 700.3 billion in FY 2023/24, their lending expanded by 66.05 percent, reaching Rs 1.168 trillion in FY 2024/25.
According to Nepal Rastra Bank statistics, Machhapuchchhre Bank registered the highest growth in this category. Its margin loan portfolio jumped 442.10 percent — from Rs 4.6 billion to Rs 25.3 billion. Similarly, Nepal SBI Bank expanded its share-backed lending by 207.15 percent, rising from Rs 2 billion to Rs 6.1 billion.
Other notable increases came from Agriculture Development Bank (192.66 percent), NMB Bank (144 percent), Laxmi Sunrise Bank (143 percent), and Kumari Bank (138.41 percent).
By the end of the fiscal year, Nabil Bank had the largest outstanding margin loan portfolio at Rs 167.6 billion, followed by Global IME Bank with Rs 123 billion and Kumari Bank with Rs 104.3 billion.
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