“Purely due to internal procedures that we might not be able to hold the AGM in Poush itself and that we might have to hold it in Magh,” a high-ranking bank official told. “But we are fundamentally stronger than before and are firm when it comes to endorsing the dividend we have pledged.”
Last month the bank’s BoD had pledged 17.79 percent dividends, including 10 percent bonus share to the shareholders from the net profit it posted in the last fiscal year 2069/70.
Senior NBB officials are currently busy holding audits in the run-up to the AGM.
Brushing aside some rumor that Nepal Rastra Bank was planning to block the proposed dividend, NBB official further clarified that the central bank has not notified anything like that and that they expect it to endorse the dividend as it is.
The share price of Nepal Bangladesh Bank Limited is rising at an astounding rate in the stock market – faster than most other scrip of listed companies largely propelled by the news of imminent second installment from ICFC Bank of Bangladesh, which would effectively hand over the commercial bank to new management.
Reforms in the bank management, auction of the promoter and rights shares held by the founder promoter, NB Group, which had put the bank in the mess in past, could be other factors, besides the ongoing bullish trend of the market itself are the other factors that are triggering rise in the price of NBB scrip.
He further said that it’s high time the market went for correction, and not just the share prices of this particular commercial bank.
Yet another reason for the sustained demand of NBB Bank shares is that the commercial bank is already good, fundamentally too.
The unaudited first quarterly report for NBB shows that it earned a net profit of Rs 14.16 crore in the first quarter, up from Rs 6.12 crore in the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal year.
The bank also posted an impressive net interest income of Rs 19.45 crore, down from just Rs 9.04 crore in the corresponding quarter.
Its non performing loan has also significantly decreased from 3.95 percent to just 1.40 percent.
It may be noted that earlier this month NBB officials had told that the second installment from ICFC Bank will come “soon”.
“We are waiting for the final letter from Nepal Rastra Bank at this point,” said Dhiraj Raj Subedi, bank’s company secretary. “Once it is done, ICFC will be releasing the second installment.”
He, however, said that though the second installment will come soon, it will take months before the new management can takeover.
“They are yet to initiate the process of seeking permission from the authorities concerned for the management change,” he said. “It will take several months to complete that process once it is begun.”-SSN
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