The central bank has eased the rule requiring banks to obtain Business Credibility Information (BCI) on importers seeking to open Letters of Credit (LC). The Nepal Rastra Bank had decided last week that the BCI should be mandatory for imports over $15,000, but has now raised that limit to $50,000. The bank has also decided that the BCI will be valid for a year, against its own earlier requirement that it be verified and updated every three months. While businesses are generally happy to have got their way, donors are critical, citing this flip-flop as yet another example of the central bank's poor ability to assess the market it is trying to serve. They say this is a blow to the bank's credibility as an institution that frames rules and sticks by them. Rastra Bank governor Tilak Rawal says the recent decision shows his "flexibility" to adjust rules if they are impractical.