Commercial and development banks collectively spent Rs 16.56 billion on office operations during the first five months of the fiscal year, reflecting a marginal decline of 0.87 percent compared to the same period last year. The reduction follows Nepal Rastra Bank’s push for branch consolidation and cost efficiency. Global IME Bank recorded the highest operating expenses at Rs 1.31 billion, followed by Nepal Investment Mega Bank at Rs 1.2 billion. NIC Asia Bank reported the sharpest cost reduction, cutting expenses by nearly 23 percent. Meanwhile, development banks saw a rise in operating costs, led by Muktinath Bikas Bank, whose expenses increased by 6.43 percent to Rs 1.92 billion.
