KATHMANDU: Finance Minister Janardan Sharma has promised to come with the provision that guarantees a cheque clearing facility for the cooperative banks.

Addressing the two-day Conference on Microfinance in Cooperatives-2021 kicked off today on the occasion of the 19th anniversary of National Co-operative Bank Limited ( NCBL) in Lalitpur today, the Finance Minister said the discussions were going on to provide social security allowance through cooperative banks or microfinance companies based in the rural areas.

He took time to call on cooperatives banks to focus on production and job creation instead of competing for profit.

The Finance Minister was of the view that the development of a pro-production economy should be the priority of the cooperative banks and the microfinance institutions.

As he said, the government was ready to facilitate the same by making changes in the existing policies. The focus on production would contribute to employment creation and poverty alleviation, he argued.

He also promised to address the discriminatory provisions in the disbursement of loans. The provision of charging less interest rate in vehicle loans and more interest for loans for the poor should be corrected, he asserted, urging cooperative banks, cooperatives, and micro finances to deduct the interest rate in the loan.

Former chair of National Cooperatives Federation of Nepal, Keshab Badal, journalist Sharmila Thakuri and the bank’s best performers were honored on the occasion. Physical presence in the event has been discouraged and over 600 representatives are attending it virtually, according to NCBL chair KP Uprety.
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