Nepse orders postponement of Nepal Bangladesh Bank annual general meeting

Finally, Nepal Stock Exchange – the front line regulator – has directed Nepal Bangladesh Bank to postpone its annual general meeting (AGM) scheduled for March 11 due to the ongoing row regarding its share transfer.

The stock exchange has told the bank to wait for the Kathmandu District Court’s final ruling on share transfer row.

Though it is illegal and weakness of both regulators Nepse and sebon, the stock brokers have stopped trading the share of Nepal Bangladesh Bank and National Hydropower due to Nepse and Securities Board of Nepal's (Sebon) delay in solving the dispute.

Some 1,000 investors who bought around shares owned by Nirmal Pradhan and Shankar Shrestha around a year ago have not been issued share certificates yet as Pradhan and Shrestha are said to have sold some 220,000 units of NB Bank shares that they did not actually own and were only holding as collateral from the bank's promoter Laxmi Bahadur Shrestha. Pradhan and Shankar Shrestha are being accused of selling non-transferrable shares.

Some 145,000 unit shares of NB Bank’s shares are being held up in a blank transfer state, according to the sources.

"As the investors have been affected by the dispute and the eligibility of shareholders for the bank’s dividend is in question, the Nepse has ordered the bank to postpone the bank's 19th AGM," the Nepse statement read.

Nepal Bangladesh Bank has announced 7.9 per cent cash and 10 per cent stock dividend that is yet to be approved by the AGM.

Earlier, Laxmi Bahadur Shrestha – former NB Bank director – had pledged some 220,000 unit shares to get loan from Pradhan with a clause that barred him from selling the shares, it is said. "Later Pradhan and Shankar Shrestha pledged the shares at Narayani National Finance to obtain loan but the finance company auctioned off the shares when the borrowers could not repay the loans."

The shares were then traded at the stock exchange but Kathmandu District Court to annul the share transfers after Laxmi Bahadur lodged a case at the Court.