In normal times, Nepal's commercial banks would be busy issuing loans right and left at the start of every new fiscal year. In mid-July, lenders would be bracing for a hectic season.

“That is the time importers seek loans for importing goods targeting the Dashain and Tihar festivals,” said Gunakar Bhatta, spokesperson for Nepal Rastra Bank. “But the report I have received shows that banks have been hardly issuing loans since the fiscal year started.”

When the current fiscal year started on July 16, the entire country was in the fourth month of the lockdown that the government had imposed from March 24 to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Businesses and factories were shuttered, shops were closed, tourist arrivals were down to zero, and restaurants and hotels teetered on the edge.

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