During a committee meeting at Singha Durbar on Friday, draft provisions regarding educational backgrounds and professional track records were presented. Under the proposed criteria, candidates for the governorship must hold at least a Bachelor’s degree from a recognized university in fields such as monetary studies, banking, finance, statistics, public administration, commerce management, commercial law, or accounting.
Eligible candidates must also possess high-level executive experience, including service as a special-class official in the Government of Nepal, an NRB Executive Director, a university professor, or at least four years in an executive role at a Class 'A' commercial bank or an international economic and financial institution. Candidates holding a Ph.D. in a relevant discipline must have a minimum of 10 years of officer-level experience in commercial banking or the international financial sector.
To prevent conflicts of interest, lawmakers agreed to implement a mandatory cooling-off period for current and former executives of Class 'A' commercial banks before they can be considered for the NRB's top post.
The committee also addressed potential disputes regarding share ownership in financial institutions. Lawmakers reached a consensus that appointed governors and directors must not hold controlling stakes in any financial institution, proposing to cap allowable share ownership at below 0.5 percent.
Additionally, the committee agreed on key terminology revisions to improve clarity within the Act. The term "financial sector" will be replaced with "financial institution," and outdated phrasing regarding mental health conditions will be updated to "mental illness."
Discussions regarding the specific powers of the NRB Governor and the overall role of the Board of Directors remain ongoing and are scheduled for finalization in the committee's next meeting.
