After failing to hold its 29th annual general meeting (AGM) – two months ago on October 10 – that was supposed to approve Rastriya Beema Sansthan’s (RBS) financial statements of three fiscal years 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06, and distribute 39 per cent, 39 per cent and 15 per cent bonus from the profits of the three fiscal years, the state insurance agency has asked today to let it start stock trading. The Nepse has also opened its stock trading on the request of Rastriya Beema Sansthan.
Despite being an old and trusted insurance agency, the Rastriya Beema Sansthan has not yet been transparent in its financial statements. Without the approval of the Insurance Board – the regulator of the insurance market – the company distributed bonuses to its staffs and performance allowances too.
The insurance company has failed to hold its AGM since last one decade also due to bad corporate governance and militancy of the employees, who have already received Rs 27.25 million bonus from the profits of fiscal year 2006-07 without the Insurance Board and AGM’s approval, according to the law of the land.
The anti-graft body has become active and started looking into illegal bonuses of the employees.
The Commission for Abuse of Authority has summoned the insurance company’s administrator and two financial chiefs, who are looking after its life and non-life businesses.
After a Cabinet decision in 1994 allowed the insurance company to award and reward, it has already distributed around Rs 100 million till last year without the approval of the regulator and shareholders.
As a listed company, not a single penny can be spent without the shareholders approval, but the state-owned insurance company has been bypassing the shareholders not only the regulators and pampering its staff in the pressure of employees union.
It has not been able to split its business into life and non-life even after the insurance regulator’s repeated directives that states that an insurance company can not do both life and non-life business.

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