Nepal Bankers’ Association (NBA) in collaboration with Financial Literacy Nepal (FLN) successfully organized an interaction program on Current Issues & Financial Literacy at Pokhara. The primary objective of the program was to interact on various pertaining challenges and issues in the banking and capital market, and also to understand how financial literacy can help to address them.
In the opening remarks, Executive Director of NBA, Mr. Anil Sharma extended a warm welcome to all the participants and highlighted the importance of the program, which primarily focused on two key areas: the ongoing challenges and concerned issues within the capital market and the current issues concerning the banking sector and financial literacy. Mr. Sharma emphasized that the program is expected to immensely beneficial to everyone involved by enhancing their capacity, knowledge and skills.
During the program, Former Executive Director of Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON), Mr. Niraj Giri delivered a presentation covering various aspects of securities market. He talked into both the legal framework and practical dimensions including the role of regulatory bodies in overseeing market activities, and the procedures involved in issuing and trading securities. Additionally, he also shed light on practical aspects such as market trends, investment strategies, and risk management techniques relevant to securities market.
Similarly, Former NBA President Mr. Bhuvan Dahal delivered presentation on current banking and financial issues. He discussed various topics such as the public perception of the banking sector and the reasons behind the growing negative sentiments. He also exposed the reality behind some of the myths and misconceptions about the industry. Using data and evidence, he highlighted the current state of the banking sector and argued that it was stable, resilient, and well-regulated by the central bank’s policies. He also shared his expertise with the participants and answered their queries and concerns.
During the program, Gandaki Province Head and Director of Nepal Rastra Bank, Ms. Arya Joshi shed light on the importance of the financial literacy in the current changing banking and financial landscape. She further highlighted that the issues of financial literacy shouldn’t be area of interest of a particular single group of people, but rather all concerned stakeholders should work together and collective afford is most for the effectiveness of the financial literacy program.
The Chief Guest of the Program, Former Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank and Economic Advisor of Rt. Hon. President, Dr. Chiranjibi Nepal shared his experience and insights and provided suggestions on how to address the current banking and financial issues. He mentioned the positive outcomes of the policies that were introduced during by NRB few years back, and how they have in due course helped to improve the performance and stability of the banking sector. He emphasized the need for enhancing financial literacy among the concerned stakeholders. He stated that there was still a lot of work to be done in the area of financial literacy, and that without providing people with adequate financial education and skills, it would be very hard to cope with the banking challenges on coming days.
More than 50 officials from various commercial and development banks participated in the program.
