Agricultural lending declined by 2.2 percent in the first five months of the current fiscal year, according to Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB). Although monetary policy aimed for 12 percent growth in private-sector credit, actual expansion stood at just 1.9 percent, reaching Rs 102.24 billion. Total credit outstanding rose to Rs 5.599 trillion by mid-December 2025. Loans to the agriculture sector fell to Rs 408.71 billion from Rs 415.49 billion a year earlier. Bankers attribute the decline to a shortage of viable new projects and a default rate in agriculture that is twice the overall banking average.
