January 4: Just two-and-a-half- month after it came into effect, Nepal Rastra Bank has revised ‘Working Capital Loan Guideline-2079’.  
NRB took the decision to this effect at the directive of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal.  

Ever since Pushpa Kamal Dahal was appointed as Prime Minister, different umbrella organizations of businesses had been lobbying him to revise the new rule of working capital loan.

On Wednesday morning, Prime Minister Dahal had held meeting with Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Poudel and Nepal Rastra Bank’s Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari regarding the same matter. 

In a virtual press meet, the Nepal Rastra Bank had notified revisions made in connection with the rule of working capital loan. 
Since the introduction of the working capital loan guideline by the NRB for financial discipline and stability, industrialists, entrepreneurs and traders had been protesting against it. 

With the revisions, NRB will not implement the provisions to provide loan based on current assets and annual turnover amount only.  Businessmen that have borrowed more than the limit can repay the debt in five installments by Ashad 2082. 

While determining the limit of periodic loans for working capital purposes, at least 3 years of estimated financial statements and at least 3 years of audited statements should be analyzed in accordance with working capital loan policy.

The new rule came into implementation from October 18, 2022. 

Working capital loan is provided to the firms, organizations and companies to cover their short-term operational needs.

Earlier, Nepal Rastra Bank officials had been defending the new rule of working capital loan saying that businessmen and entrepreneurs were using the loan to invest in the stock market and real estate. 

NRB Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari was reluctant even to hear the word revision of the rule of working capital loan during Sher Bahadur Deuba-led government’s tenure.

After CPN-UML bagged the Ministry of Finance, Adhikari revised the provisions related to the working capital loan on the ninth day of the formation of the new government.