Category: Banking and Finance

Nov 03, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Nations Trust Bank (NTB) said net profit for the September 2010 quarter rose 104 percent to 354 million rupees from a year ago as interest margins improved and bad loans fell. Interest income fell 10 percent to 2.6 billion rupees and interest costs fell at a faster 32 […]

Nov 02, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Singer Finance Ltd is planning to raise 400 million rupees in an initial public offering by selling 25 percent of its shares to the public, a stock exchange filing said. Singer Finance has 106.6 million shares in issue and it will sell 26.6 million shares at 15 rupees […]

Oct 31, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank of Ceylon has reported profits of 1. 4 billion rupees for the September 2010 quarter, up 46 percent from a year earlier, on stronger interest margins and loan growth. Revenues rose 0.2 percent to 10.55 billion rupees. The bank reported earnings per share of 3. 75 […]

Oct 30, 2010 (LBO) – A new Sri Lankan investment fund that opened for subscription Friday is targeting the banking sector which is seen doing well given the need for funding to fuel an economic boom, officials said. “We expect many new projects to need financing in the fast growing sectors of the economy. ” […]

Oct 29, 2010 (LBO) – Other than Sri Lanka’s government Treasury bills, which was free of credit risk, other types of investments even in banks and finance companies regulated by the Central Bank had different levels of risk, Governor Nivard Cabraal said. To educate the public about the level of risk in each institution the […]

Oct 28, 2010 (LBO) – K G D D Dheerasinghe, deputy governor of Sri Lanka’s central bank has been awarded an honorary fellowship of the Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka for his contribution to developing the financial services industry. The Central Bank said he joined the monetary authority in 1975 and had worked in […]

Oct 28, 2010 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government’s top legal officer has suggested making directors of banks personally liable if their firms get into trouble and giving more power to the regulator to act against them. Attorney general Mohan Peiris said laws similar to those in the companies act were needed to cover bank […]

Oct 27, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Sampath Bank was given an ‘AA’ long term rating with a ‘stable’ outlook and ‘P1’ short term rating, on better risk management which improved asset quality and capital adequacy, RAM Ratings Lanka said. “In 2008, Sampath recruited several experienced personnel to fortify its internal systems and market position,” […]

Oct 26, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Pan Asia Bank net profit for the September 2010 quarter rose 87 percent to 129 million rupees from a year ago as interest costs fell and non-interest income rose, a stock exchange filing said. Interest income fell two percent in the September 2010 quarter to 776 million rupees […]

Oct 26, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Seylan Bank was assigned a ‘BBB+(lka)’ National Long-term rating for its proposed senior unsecured redeemable debentures of up to two billion rupees, Fitch Ratings Lanka said. The rating agency also confirmed the bank’s National Long-term rating at ‘BBB+(lka)’ with a stable outlook while also confirming the bank’s 3.4 […]

Oct 26, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Sampath Bank September 2010 net profit rose 47 percent to 789 million rupees from a year ago as it reversed provisioning for bad loans, a stock exchange filing said. The bank’s interest income fell 13.1 percent to 4.7 billion rupees while interest expenses fell at a faster 23. […]

Oct 25, 2010 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Lanka has confirmed the national long-term rating of Sri Lanka’s Hatton National Bank (HNB) at ‘AA-(lka)’ and its subordinated debentures at ‘A+(lka)’ with a stable outlook, a statement said. “The ratings reflect HNB’s sound financial profile supported by good profitability, asset quality and capitalisation among local commercial banks,” […]