KATHMANDU, March 25 -- Majority of commercial banks have lowered their base interest rates on loans to single digit after they were overwhelmed with excess loanable funds.

According to the financial reports unveiled by the class 'A' financial institutions, 17 out of 20 commercial banks have maintained their interest rates on loans below 10 percent per annum. Three commercial banks including Kumari Bank, Prime Commercial Bank and Himalayan Bank, however, are found reluctant to reduce their base interest rates to single digit. The base interest rate of Himalayan Bank is the highest at 10.10 percent per annum.

Standard Chartered Bank Nepal Limited (SCBNL) and Rastriya Banijya Bank (RBB) have fixed their base interest rates at less than 8 p...