Category: Banking and Finance

Mar 07, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has ordered a probe on the purchase of a Ceylinco group firm by the chairman of Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka, a state-run bank, in the course of a court case relating to a failed financial firm, a media report said. Supreme Court Justice Shirani Tilakawardene […]

Feb 05, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Vallibel Finance, a unit of Vallibel group of entrepreneur Dhammika Perera, said it is selling down a 25 percent stake in an initial public offering on the Colombo Stock Exchange’s main board to raise 114.4 million rupees. “The funds will be used for new leasing, hire purchase and […]

Mar 05, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s NDB Bank said its chief executive Eran Wickramaratne has resigned from his post as he plans to enter parliament as a member of the main opposition United National Party. The bank said in a stock exchange filing that Russel de Mel, now serving as vice president – head […]

Feb 04, 2010 (LBO) – A scheme to pay ‘bonus interest’ of one fifth above prevailing interest rates to senior citizens from January 01 would cost the people about 1. 2 billion rupees a year, a government minister said. The cabinet of minister had approved a proposal on Wednesday to pay extra interest for deposits […]

Mar 04, 2010 (LBO) – Pan Asia Banking Corporation (PABC) is looking to diversify its loan book by wooing customers to take its ‘Express Nivasa’ housing loan scheme that gives quick loan approvals to future home owners. “The housing sector went through some trouble last year,” A G Weerasinghe, chairman at PABC said. “Houses that […]

Mar 03, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will host the 46th conference of governors of South East Asian Central Banks (SEACEN) and 30th meeting of the SEACEN Board of Governors in February 2011, the Central bank said. It said in a statement that at the last meeting held in February 2010 in Cambodia, governors discussed […]

Mar 01, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s listed Seylan Merchant Bank said it was changing its name to SMB Holdings and splitting each existing share in to ten new shares, the firm said in a stock exchange filing. SMB was a subsidiary of listed Seylan Bank, which is under regulatory supervision following a run. On […]

Feb 28, 2010 (LBO) – Sampath Bank said its 2009 net group profits rose 36.8 percent to 2.0 billion rupees, while December quarter net was up 72.4 percent to 689 million rupees with higher interest rate spreads and fee income. The banking group said in a stock exchange filing December quarter interest income fell 6.2 […]

Feb 26, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hatton National Bank (HNB) said group net profits for the 2009 financial year rose 58 percent to 4.5 billion rupees with gains from investments in government securities while the loan book shrank. The bank said in a stock exchange filing that group December quarter profits shot up 156 […]

Feb 25, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank said group December quarter profits rose 8.3 percent to 1,207 million rupees while full year profits were up 1.7 percent to 4,191 million rupees. Basic earnings per share for the quarter were reported at 4.84 rupees and the full year at 16.80 rupees. In the December […]

Feb 25, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Nation Trust Bank (NTB) group December quarter profits rose 5.0 percent to 181.1 million rupees from a year ago, and full year profits were up 16 percent 686.1 million rupees. For the year non-interest income was up 8.0 percent to 1.9 billion rupees, and non interest expenses were […]

Feb 25, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s HSBC unit has opened a new branch in the capital Colombo pushing the total up to 15, within weeks of starting a new branch in the northern Jaffna peninsular. The new branch in Maitland Crescent in the upmarket Cinnamon Gardens or Colombo 7 area also has a ‘premier […]