Category: Banking and Finance

Aug 03, 2010 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Lanka said it has confirmed National Development Bank’s (NDB) National Long-term rating at ‘AA(lka)’ with a stable outlook. The agency has also confirmed NDB’s subordinated debentures at ‘AA-(lka)’. “The ratings reflect NDB’s strong financial profile relative to its peers,” a statement said. “The ratings are however constrained by […]

Aug 02, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank net profit for the June 2010 quarter rose 7. 5 percent to 1.2 billion rupees from a year ago with a sharp fall in interest expenses, a stock exchange filing said. Total income was down 10 percent to 9. 9 billion rupees in the quarter, the […]

Aug 02, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Lanka Orix Leasing Company (LOLC) and a micro financier attached to a charity are teaching relatives of foreign migrant workers to set up and run small income generating businesses. “People themselves hand carry or they send through their friends and family members,”Nanayakkara said. “So what happened is the […]

Aug 02, 2010 (LBO) – The number of credit cards issued by Sri Lanka’s banks picked up slightly in May 2010 from the previous month but total credit contracted as banks remained cautious, latest data showed. Total credit given through cards fell to 29.9 billion rupees in May 2010 from 30.2 billion in April 2010 […]

Aug 02, 2010 (LBO) – People’s Leasing Finance Company wants to raise 568 million rupees via a one-to-one rights issue to meet capital adequacy requirements, a stock exchange filing said. The 22.7 million rights issue will be priced at 25 rupees per share, to raise 568 million rupees to boost the firm’s core capital. “The […]

Aug 02, 2010 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Lanka said it has downgraded Commercial Bank’s National Long-term rating to ‘AA(lka)’ from ‘AA+(lka)’ and its individual rating to ‘D/E’ from ‘D’ with a stable outlook. The agency has also downgraded the rating on the bank’s subordinated debentures to ‘AA-(lka)’ from ‘AA(lka)’ and simultaneously confirmed its Support rating […]

LONDON, August 1, 2010 (AFP) – British banks must use first-half profits to boost lending to businesses, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said in an interview on Sunday, ahead of key results for the nation’s top lenders. “But the industry’s ability to support the economy needs to be considered as the increased capital and […]

July 30, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s PABC Bank’s net profit for the June 2010 quarter fell 60 percent to 83 million rupees from a year earlier, despite lower loan loss provisions, as fee income fell steeply. Interest income fell 17 percent to 704 million rupees amid a falling rate environment and interest expenses fell […]

July 29, 2010 (LBO) – Informal entities that have been operating as Islamic financiers in Sri Lanka will have to get their houses in order and become fully compliant with supervisory regulations ahead of a new law on deposit taking, an industry official said. “Some IFIs (Islamic financial institutions), because the owner is a well […]

July 29, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank has opened two more branches in the former northern war zone of the Jaffna peninsula where economic activity is reviving, a statement said. “Residents of the Northern Province are now served by 11 Commercial Bank branches and service points with the simultaneous opening of two new […]

July 28, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka could issue Islamic finance sovereign bonds or ‘Sukuks’ and take the lead in becoming a regional centre for Islamic financial services which other countries with less experience are aiming for, an official said. “Australia and Mauritius have said they want to be hubs for Islamic finance,” says Rushdi […]

July 28, 2010 (LBO) – Depositors of a failed Sri Lankan finance company desperate to get their money back want to petition the United Nations human rights council saying their fundamental rights have been violated, a spokeswoman said. Only a few depositors had benefitted from a government repayment scheme for those who had money in […]