Category: Banking and Finance

June 13, 2013 (LBO) – A forum for chief financial offers will kick off Thursday evening on opportunities, strategies and challenges with respect to the future growth of Sri Lanka’s banking sector. Senior bankers and a senior representative from Central Bank will take part in panel discussion on the above areas and other key challenges. […]

June 12, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s licensed finance companies (LFC), which play in the sub-prime market has cut exposure to property and stocks, though they are facing an uptick in non-performing loans amidst a downturn, a rating report said.Investments in land and property had fallen to 1.86 percent of assets in the 9 months […]

June 6, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-run Bank of Ceylon will finance 48.2 kilometre road at a cost of 3,915 million rupees, the state information office said.The cabinet of ministers had given the nod for the proposal by the ministry of finance to enter into a loan agreement with the bank. The road will […]

May 31, 2013 (LBO) – A new finance company unit of Sri Lanka’s Richard Peiris group will focus and core hire purchase and leasing but expects to gain an from group synergies, officials said.Richard Pieris Arpico Finance, a Central Bank registered firm, has been capitalized with 400 million rupees and which will be topped up […]

May 31, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s DFCC Bank group has reported net profits of 1.2 billion rupees in the March 2013 quarter, up 63 percent from a year earlier, helped by higher interest income. The group reported earnings of 4.63 rupees per share reporting on accounts filed with the Colombo stock exchange using Sri […]

May 30, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is looking to give the freedom of getting inward payments through Paypal, a cost-effective global remittance and payments system that has helped boost e-commerce in many countries, Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal said.“We are looking at it seriously,” Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal told LBO. “We have to […]

May 22, 2013 (LBO) – Melsta Regal Finance Ltd, a unit of Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka has been rated ‘A+(lka) by Fitch Ratings, on the strength of its ‘AAA(lka)’ rated ultimate parent. The full statement is reproduced below: Fitch Rates Sri Lanka’s Melsta Regal Finance ‘A+(lka)’/Stable Fitch Ratings-Colombo-21 May 2013: Fitch Ratings has assigned […]

May 21, 2013 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings said an ‘AA-(lka)’ rating of Sri Lanka’s Hatton National Bank has been confirmed with a stable outlook and the bank has slowed pawning advances as gold prices fell. It also confirmed an ‘A+(lka)’ rating of HNB’s subordinated debentures of 6.0 billion rupees. “HNB’s ratings reflect its strong domestic […]

May 20, 2013 (LBO) – Prime Grameen Micro Finance Limited plans to grow its customers from 125,000 members to 200,000 members in 2013, helped by expansions into former war zones in Sri Lanka’s East, officials said.Before borrowing, members of a group will typically start depositing small amounts, helping develop a savings habit. Some micro finance […]

May 16, 2013 (LBO) – Small businesses in Sri Lanka and the Maldives will soon have access sophisticated financial products to engage in international trade, International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group said. The organization also provides advisory services to for small and medium enterprises by improving access to finance, and […]

May 15, 2013 (LBO) – Profits at Sri Lanka’s NDB group fell 53 percent to 499 million rupees in the March 2013 quarter, from a year earlier, on higher operating expenses and provisioning as interest costs rose, interim accounts showed.The group reported earnings 3.09 rupees per share. Interest income rose 34 percent to 4.9 billion […]

May 15, 2013 (LBO) – Profits at Sri Lanka’s Nations Trust Bank rose 15 percent to 501 million rupees in the March 2013 quarter helped by fee and fund based income, interim accounts show.The bank reported earnings of 2.18 rupees per share. NTB group’s interest income rose 35 percent to 4.35 billion rupees and interest […]