Category: Banking and Finance

July 16, 2011 (LBO) – Union Bank of Colombo (UBC) and foreign investment fund ShoreCap II will buy Sri Lanka’s The Finance and Guarantee Company (TF&G), investing 1.1 billion rupees to revive the finance firm. Union Bank chairman Aijta de Zoysa said in a statement the acquisition is part of Union Bank’s diversification and expansion […]

July 11, 2011 (LBO) – Credit to business from Sri Lanka’s commercial banks rose 33. 9 billion rupees in May 2011 to 1,664. 4 billion rupees, with rupee denominated loans rising 30.5 billion rupees and forex loans rising 3. 4 billion rupees, official data showed. In the year to May commercial bank loans to business […]

July 11, 2011 (LBO) – Directors of an unregulated finance company in Sri Lanka’s Ceylinco group including its chairman Lalith Kothelawala have been charged following a two and a half year probe, media reports said. Separately, Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has earlier issued orders on the Golden Key after depositors sought repayment. The Sunday Island […]

July 08, 2011 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Lanka has confirmed the national long-term ratings of Bank of Ceylon (BOC), People’s Bank (PB), Commercial Bank of Ceylon (CB) and Sampath Bank (SB). The rating agency also confirmed and simultaneously withdrawn the individual and support ratings of the four banks as the ratings are no longer relevant […]

July 07, 2011 (LBO) – Amana Global, a fully-owned subsidiary of Sri Lanka’s Amana Takaful has signed a deal with Islamic Banking and Finance Institute of Malaysia (IBFIM) to offer training in Islamic finance. At present there is a dearth of professional services available to satisfy the demand, a company statement said. “The move to […]

SINGAPORE, July 6, 2011 (AFP) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and reinsurer Swiss Re announced an agreement Wednesday to boost regional trade by guaranteeing financing risks for exporters and importer in poor countries. The guarantee means banks can be more comfortable lending to these companies, which need short-term funds to pay for their import-export […]

July 04, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Citizens Development Business Finance has selected a banking technology platform developed by Polaris Software and MillenniumIT, a statement said. The IntellectTM product suite supports a wide spectrum of banking operations such as general ledger and deposits, along with specialized modules like pawning, debentures, and audit trail. “This well […]

June 29, 2011 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Lanka has assigned DFCC Vardhana Bank’s (DVB) proposed subordinated debentures of up to a billion rupees a national rating of ‘A+(lka)’. The agency has simultaneously confirmed DVB’s National Long-Term rating at ‘AA-(lka)’ with a stable outlook, a statement said. The proposed debt issue has tenures ranging from five […]

June 27, 2011 (LBO) – RAM Ratings Lanka has reaffirmed the Construction Guarantee Fund’s (CGF) long- and short-term financial enhancement ratings at BBB+ and P2 with the long-term rating having a stable outlook. “The ratings are supported by the Fund’s very strong capitalisation and stringent underwriting standards, as well as the expected financial support from […]

June 27, 2011 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Lanka has confirmed Sinhaputhra Finance’s (SFL) national long-term rating at ‘B(lka)’ with a negative outlook. The confirmation reflects the latest improvement in SFL’s credit risk management practices and the subsequent “stabilisation” in its asset quality, although the latter still remains weaker than its peers’ average, a statement said. […]

June 23, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state run Lankaputhra Development Bank’s bad loans had increased to 66. 4 percent of gross loans from 55.9 percent a year earlier, though the bank had become more selective in new lending, a finance ministry report said. It had received capital injections from people’s tax money earlier. The […]

June 22, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank plans to offer more mobile phone banking services such as allowing customers to remit funds and check the status of deposited cheques. Commercial Bank’s internet banking facilities are also to be shortly offered via a Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) portal, the bank said in a statement. […]