Category: Banking and Finance

Mar 03, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-run Bank of Ceylon group said profits for the December 2010 quarter grew 77. 5 percent to 2,107 million rupees and the full year net was up 102 percent to 3,299 million amid high loan growth and wider margins. The group also contained operating costs with non-interest expenses […]

Mar 02, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Seylan Bank now being restructured under regulatory supervision said will raise 4. 6 billion rupees (42.6 million US dollars) from shareholders by the sale of new voting and non-voting shares. The bank will issue 43.33 million voting shares at 75 rupees in the proportion of one new share […]

Mar 01, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Lanka Orix Leasing Company has been downgraded by one notch to ‘A-(lka)’ by Fitch Ratings, with a ‘negative’ outlook on higher debt funded equity investments in group firms. Fitch said it had also downgraded an LOLC’s proposed commercial paper to ‘F2(lka)’ from ‘F(lka)’ and withdrawn the rating. “The […]

Mar 01, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Lanka Orix Finance Company outlook has been lowered from ‘stable’ to ‘negative’ on weak capitalization following rapid growth, Fitch Ratings said. It’s national long-term rating has been confirmed at ‘A-(lka). The company’s capitalization, as measured by equity to assets, had decreased to 9.2 percent at year ended March […]

Mar 01, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Senkadagala Finance, a registered finance company, has been given the nod to list on the second board of Colombo Stock Exchange through the ‘introduction’ process the bourse said in a statement. Sri Lanka’s finance companies have been asked to list on the stock exchange by the Central Bank, […]

Feb 28, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hatton National Bank said group net profit for the December 2010 quarter was up two percent to 1. 87 billion rupees from a year ago with sharp gains in fee income. A stock exchange filing said HNB’s group net profit for the full financial year ending December 31, […]

Feb 28, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Laka’s Seylan Bank, under regulatory re-structuring reported a 387. 2 million rupee profit for the December quarter from a loss of 30. 4 million a year earlier, helped by foreign exchange profits and cost controls. Full year profits rose 176 percent to 1,207 million rupees. The group reported earnings […]

Feb 28, 2011 (LBO) – RAM Ratings Lanka has assigned a long-term BBB rating to Union Bank with a stable outlook and a short-term rating of P3, a statement said. “The ratings are premised on the bank’s healthy capitalisation as well as adequate funding and liquidity positions,” the rating agency said. “On the other hand, […]

LONDON, February 28, 2011 (AFP) – Banking giant HSBC said on Monday that its net profit more than doubled to $13.16 billion (9.56 billion euros) last year as bad debts plunged to the lowest level since 2006. HSBC said in a results statement that pre-tax profits soared by nearly 170 percent to billion in 2010, […]

Feb 24, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s NDB Bank’s net profit for the December 2010 quarter rose 25 percent to 607 million rupees from a year earlier while the full year net rose 3. 0 percent to 2.14 billion rupees. The bank is reporting 26.22 rupees earning per share for the year. In the December […]

Feb 24, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank said profits in the December 2010 quarter rose 46.8 percent to 1.77 billion rupees while the full year profits rose 31 percent to 5.5 billion rupees, helped by stronger credit growth. The non-performing loan ratio has improved to 4.22 percent by end December 2010, from 6. […]

Feb 24, 2011 (LBO) – The heads of east Asian central banks begin a meeting in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo Friday to discuss challenges facing monetary authorities in emerging markets after the global financial crisis. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka will host the 46th South East Asian Central Banks (SEACEN) Governors’ conference, high-level […]