NIC Asia Bank Limited

NIC Asia Bank Limited is a Class 'A' commercial bank licensed by Nepal Rastra Bank and one of the largest banks in the country by branch network and customer base. It serves more than three million customers across all seven provinces with retail, SME and corporate banking services.

The bank was founded as Nepal Industrial and Commercial Bank on 21 July 1998. On 30 June 2013 it merged with Bank of Asia Nepal and took the name NIC Asia Bank. That transaction was the first merger between two commercial banks in Nepali banking history, and it set the pattern for the wave of consolidation that followed across the sector.

The Banker, a Financial Times publication, named it Bank of the Year in Nepal for 2013, an award it had also received in 2007 under its earlier name. As of the 2023/24 financial year the bank reported paid-up capital of about Rs 14.92 billion, with the promoter group holding 51 percent of shares and the public 49 percent.

NIC Asia operates around 360 branches, 647 ATMs, 108 extension counters and 41 branchless banking service points, giving it one of the densest ATM footprints of any bank in Nepal. Its head office is on Pragya Marga at Kamaladi in Kathmandu, with a corporate office in the same area, and branches in every province including Pokhara, Biratnagar, Birgunj, Butwal, Nepalgunj, Dharan, Itahari, Janakpur, Hetauda and Dhangadhi.

The bank owns NIC Asia Capital Limited, which provides merchant banking, portfolio management and mutual fund services, and NIC Asia Laghubittiya Sanstha Limited, a microfinance institution serving low-income borrowers.

International transfers, trade settlement and inward remittance run through SWIFT code NICENPKA, supported by correspondent banking relationships with foreign banks.