February 20: The overall extension of loans from banks and financial institutions (BFIs) has plunged by 1.5 percent in the first six months of the current fiscal year in comparison to the same period of the last fiscal year.

The loan extension, which had expanded by 12.7 percent in the first six months of the last fiscal, is down to 11.2 percent in the same period of the current fiscal, the statistics of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) shows.

The loan extension to the private sector has also plunged in this period. The loan extension to the private sector, which surged to 12.9 percent in the same period of last fiscal year, saw a fall to 11.9 percent in the same period this FY.