Kathmandu, Dec 1. One of Nepal’s premier financial institutions, ‘NMB Bank’ has added yet another prestigious award to its list of accolades with a win that is also an historical, first of its kind event in Nepal. The Bank has been awarded “The Bank of The Year Asia 2021” by The Banker magazine, London UK. NMB Bank has been adjudged the best bank in the Asia beating out stiff competition from Asian giants such as China, India, Hongkong, South Korea and Japan.
The Chairman of the bank including its board of directors and the CEO accepted the award on behalf of all the banking fraternity from the Honorable Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. Congratulating the bank for creating the history, the PM said that the bank has enhanced the prestige of the entire Nepali banking industry by being honored with the coveted award “The Bank of the Year Asia 2021”.
NMB Bank is the first ever bank to receive this coveted award, which is a historical achievement in itself for the banking industry in Nepal. Along with this, the bank has also been conferred with “The Bank of The Year 2021 Nepal” for the fourth time in five years. The award was announced amid a press conference held yesterday at the Everest Hotel, on the same day of the official announcement from The Banker Magazine, London.
The Bank of the Year Awards, established in 2000, are given to the best banks from each country and six global regions of Western Europe, Central & Eastern Europe, Asia, Americas, Middle East and Africa and the award is regarded as the industry standard for assessing banks across the globe and provide recognitions to the world’s leading institutions. Decision for awards are made on basis of growth and performance measures, strategic Initiatives, leveraging of technology and digitization measures, novel products and services, sustainable activities, and resilience in face of negative externalities.
NMB Bank has won this award because of its focus on sustainable banking, commitment towards digital transformation and high corporate governance standards. The bank has demonstrated a level of stability that is testament to its organizational strength and thus made it a deserving winner for this prestigious award.
“We are delighted to have won the award which is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our staff, the trust bestowed on us by our customers, regulators, the guidance of the NMB Board and support from all stakeholders. Our efforts during Covid-19 to ensure that our customers receive uninterrupted services through our digital Omni-channel platforms that have set industry standards and our efforts to support the communities where we operate in these crucial times have all contributed to the Bank’s success,” said Sunil KC, CEO, NMB Bank.
The bank has had a remarkable growth trajectory in recent years reflected in its balance sheet size. Alongside conventional banking, the bank has prioritized digital transformation and sustainable banking practices with a number of industry first events in recent years including the first ever local currency Energy bond issuance, the first ever foreign debt deal, introduction of Omni Channels banking, Video KYC, and digitized automated lending with its NMB Sapati product. The Bank is a committee member of Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials and also a member bank of Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV).The bank has 201 branches across the country which augment its digital service delivery capabilities.
