Category: Banking and Finance

Dec 16, 2009 (LBO) – RAM Ratings Lanka said it has downgraded the long-term rating of Central Investments and Finance Limited (CIFL) from B+ to C-, reflecting its poor financial performance and liquidity pressures. It also reflects the acute deterioration in the company’s asset quality, the rating agency said in a statement. “The outlook on […]

Dec 16, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank said it has appointed People’s Leasing Company as managing agent of Industrial Finance Limited, a company facing liquidity shortages, with immediate effect. The Central Bank said in a statement all directors of Industrial Finance, which is currently under its supervision, will continue to serve as members […]

Dec 16, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank said it will guarantee loans given by banks to registered leasing and finance companies in liquidity trouble, though the assistance would be conditional. The Central Bank quickly moved to act on the finance companies and also took action against directors of the Ceylinco firm. In providing […]

Dec 11, 2009 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Lanka confirmed the long-term rating of BB+(lka) and a stable outlook for Trade Finance and Investments (TFI) Limited, a firm specializing in three wheeler vehicle finance. Provision coverage for NPLs was 21 percent at end of the first half 2010 on account of 75 percent of NPLs falling […]

Dec 11, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank has asked banks to sharply reduce interest rates charged on credit cards, saying they had enough room to do so as interest rates in general had fallen.The Central Bank said in November that Treasury bill yields have fallen 947 to 950 basis points at primary auctions […]

Dec 09, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan banks have been urged to select their boards of directors with care to ensure they hire capable people with integrity and not just based on friendship or wealth.Attorney general Mohan Peiris, the government’s chief legal officer, said regulatory standards had been toughened in recent years amid heightened public […]

Dec 08, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank is to introduce a mandatory deposit insurance scheme, strengthen bank supervision and launch an internal rating system for banks, governor Nivard Cabraal said.These were some of the new measures the banking regulator is taking to strengthen the island’s financial system to ensure its future stability and […]

Dec 08, 2009 (LBO) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it has signed trade finance agreements with three Sri Lankan banks that will help them provide loans and guarantees to exporters and importers.“Nevertheless, companies in emerging markets, particularly small and medium-sized firms, have typically faced difficulties in accessing enough credit to fill export orders […]

Dec 07, 2009 (LBO) – Finance and Guarantee Company Limited, a regulated finance company in the troubled Ceylinco group will be renamed The Island Finance Company, the Central Bank said. The company suffered liquidity constraints in the wake of the crisis in the Ceylinco Group and its day to day operations were restricted following legal […]

Nov 30, 2009 (LBO) – People’s Leasing Company, Sri Lanka’s largest leasing firm, says demand for new leases is picking up with interest also from former war-torn regions, especially in the East of the country. “We think there is some appetite for credit now and we have witnessed some growth in credit and we are […]

Nov 30, 2009 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings said it has confirmed the National Long-term rating of Sri Lanka’s Senkadagala Finance Company (SFC) at ‘BBB+(lka)’ with a stable outlook. “SFC’s ratings reflect the strong capital position it accumulated over periods of high profits,” the ratings agency said in a statement. “However, return on assets (ROA) saw […]

Nov 27, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s The Finance Company, a firm in the troubled Ceylinco group that is being re-structured under regulatory supervision, has been downgraded to ‘C(lka)’ or one notch above default, Fitch Ratings Lanka said.Fitch said The Finance Company’s national rating and its subordinate debenture’s rating has both been downgrade to ‘C(lka)’.Both […]