Category: Banking and Finance
Fitch affirms and withdraws HSBC Sri Lanka Branch at AAA
Mar 24, 2016 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Lanka has affirmed and simultaneously withdrawn the rating of HSBC Sri Lanka Branch’s (HSBCSL) National Long-Term Rating at ‘AAA(lka)’ with a Stable Outlook due to commercial reasons. Fitch said in a statement that HSBCSL’s rating is at the highest end of the National Rating scale and reflects the credit profile and financial strength […]
IFC, Canada to invest USD15 mn in Richard Pieris for green retail growth
Mar 23, 2016 (LBO) — IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, together with the IFC-Canada Climate Change Program will invest 15 million dollars in Sri Lankan retail chain Richard Pieris Distributors Limited to help the company expand its retail network, support job creation, and develop local supply chains, a statement said. Funding will […]
Investment Summit: Course adjustment on Bank consolidation, says CB Governor
Singapore, Mar 18, 2016 (LBO) – The path towards Sri Lanka’s bank conslidation is being reviewed, and a course correction is taking place, Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran told the Sri Lanka Investment Summit, organized by FinanceAsia, this week. “The principle concern of the current government is that that consolidation was predicated too much on […]
71 Commercial Bank branches to be kept open on Good Friday
For the second time this month, the Commercial Bank of Ceylonwill keep71 branches open for business on a Public and Bank holiday, this time on 25th March, which is Good Friday. The Bank has announced that its30 Supermarket Banking Centres and 25 ‘365-day’ branches will work their customary hours on that day, while another 16 […]
Sri Lankan bank teller stops international hackers
Singapore, Mar 16, 2016 (LBO) – A Sri Lankan bank teller has stopped international hackers from laundering 20 million dollars stolen from the New York Federal Reserve, Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran told an audience in Singapore on Tuesday. This is testament to the best practices followed by the island’s bankers, he said explaining the […]
Sri Lanka’s Seylan Bank refutes merger talks with NDB
Mar 09, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Seylan Bank on Tuesday said the bank is not engaged in merger talks with National Development Bank or any other entity at present. Releasing a statement the Bank said its Director Board is of the view that the Bank has robust and sustainable growth potential to continue to […]
Sri Lanka’s HNB to raise Rs7bn in listed debt
Mar 09, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s HNB said it is planning to raise as much as 7 billion rupees from a sale of debentures which will be quoted on the Colombo Stock Exchange. The bank said in a stock exchange filing that it wanted to sell 40 million debentures of 100 rupees each with an […]
Virtusa acquires majority interest in Polaris Consulting
Mar 07, 2016 (LBO) – Virtusa Corporation announced that its India subsidiary has acquired all of the outstanding shares of Polaris Consulting and Services held by Arun Jain, founder and chairman of Polaris, the company said in a statement. “Virtusa Corporation announced that its India subsidiary, Virtusa Consulting Services Private Limited, has acquired all of the […]
Sri Lanka tourism earnings up 23-pct; CSE net inflows down 97-pct in 2015
Mar 04, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s earnings from tourism has increased significantly in 2015 recording a 22.6 percent increase against the previous year. In the twelve months to December, Sri Lanka has earned 2,980.7 million US dollars from tourism while earning 2,431.1 million US dollars in 2014. Workers’ remittances recorded a marginal decline of […]
Sri Lanka’s HNB reports highest advances and deposits in its history
Mar 03, 2016 (LBO) – Group profits at Sri Lanka’s Hatton National Bank rose 10 percent to 11 billion rupees in 2015, supported by profit after tax of 10.5 billion rupees, its annual report showed. The bank’s profit before VAT and tax improved to 17.9 billion rupees, whilst profit after tax surpassed 10 billion rupees […]
Fitch downgrades ratings of state banks, finance and insurance companies
Mar 02, 2016 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings has downgraded the Issuer Default Ratings of two state banks and one finance company, a statement said. Accordingly, Bank of Ceylon and National Savings Bank has been downgraded to ‘B+’ from ‘BB-‘ and People’s Leasing & Finance to ‘B’ from ‘B+’. The ratings of DFCC Bank were affirmed […]
China positive on trade, investment says Malik after visit
Mar 02, 2016 (LBO) – China is positive about Sri Lanka’s prospects as a strategically located platform for trade, investment and tourism, a statement issued following Minister Malik Samarawickrama’s recent visit to China said. “They saw opportunities for strengthening bilateral cooperation and looked forward to Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe’s visit to China in April to […]