Banking News – Rastriya Banijya Bank Limited and the Deposit and Credit Guarantee Fund have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding the individual agricultural loan guarantee scheme. The agreement was signed at a program organized at the Fund’s office in Tangal, Kathmandu.

The MoU was signed by Devendra Raman Khanal, Chief Executive Officer of Rastriya Banijya Bank Limited, and Dila Ram Giri, Chief Executive Officer of the Deposit and Credit Guarantee Fund. The program was attended by Fund Manager Bikrant Acharya, Head of the Bank’s Agriculture and Social Banking Division Bishwa Prakash Gyalwali, Deputy Manager Rajan Ghimire, and other staff members.

According to the MoU, the agricultural loan guarantee scheme will be implemented in nine local levels: Panchkhal Municipality in Kavrepalanchok, Chandannath Municipality, Patarasi Rural Municipality, and Tatopani Rural Municipality in Jumla, Birendranagar Municipality in Surkhet, Budhiganga Municipality, Budhinanda Municipality, and Triveni Municipality in Bajura, and Dhangadhi Sub-Metropolitan City in Kailali. An investment of up to Rs 16 crore will be made in the mentioned local levels at the rate of Rs 8 crore per local level for two years. Under the scheme, the loan limit per customer will range from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3 crore, with a loan tenure of 7 years.

A guarantee fund of Rs 30 crore has been established for the scheme, with contributions from the Deposit and Credit Guarantee Fund (Rs 10 crore 50 lakh), local levels (Rs 4 crore 50 lakh at Rs 50 lakh per local level for 9 local levels), and the UN Sustainable Development Goals Joint Fund received through the UN Capital Development Fund (Rs 15 crore). The implementation of the scheme is expected to contribute to the sustainable and resilient development of the national economy through entrepreneurship development, productivity enhancement, food security, and job creation.

Established on January 24, 1966 (Magh 10, 2022 BS) under full government ownership, Rastriya Banijya Bank currently provides services to over 4.8 million customers through 316 branch offices and 335 ATM terminals across all 77 district headquarters, including remote areas, offering deposits, loans, ATM, mobile banking, and other modern digital banking services.