Category: Banking and Finance

May 29, 2009 (LBO) – A central bank supported credit scheme to help war-affected Sri Lankans will not use printed money, but cash from a revolving credit facility separately managed by the monetary authority, a top official said. Sri Lanka’s central bank is planning a re-finance to jump-start lending to the war-affected so that they […]

May 28, 2009 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Lanka has confirmed an ‘AA-(lka)’ rating assigned to a mortgage backed security issued by Sri Lanka’s HDFC Bank. Fitch said the outlook of the rating on the 82.6 million rupee HDFC Home Loan Securitisation Trust 2005 – Sri Lanka’s (HLST) was ‘stable’. The security was given a Loss […]

May 28, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Citibank unit’s March 2009 quarter profits were down 41.7 percent to 230.6 million rupees on sharply lower fee income, though the net interest margins were up, published accounts showed. Interest income was up 14.5 percent to 756.8 million rupees, while interest expense was down 12.1 percent to 208.0 […]

May 28, 2009 (LBO) – Ceylinco Finance, a listed firm in the Ceylinco group, says it is re-structuring itself under the guidance of a veteran banker to focus on leasing, and is planning to ask for a finance company license. N B S B Balalle, a former chief executive of state-run National Savings Bank, has […]

May 27, 2009 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Lanka said it has confirmed People’s Leasing Co.Ltd. Trust 32’s (PLC32) 119.7 million rupee lease-backed trust certificates (LBTCs) at ‘A-(lka)’ with a stable outlook.A Loss Severity rating of ‘LS-3’ has been assigned, it said in a statement. “The affirmation is based on the uninterrupted payouts made to LBTC […]

May 27, 2009 (LBO) – The Finance Company can be turned around within six months, according to Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka (MBSL) which has been appointed by the banking regulator to manage the troubled finance firm. “The only way to move forward The Finance is engage in day-to-day activities.If not, we can’t meet the […]

May 26, 2009 (LBO) – Profits of HSBC’s Sri Lanka unit grew 40 percent to 628.1 million rupees in the March 2009 quarter on strong foreign exchange income, despite rising interest expenses, its published accounts showed. The bank’s gross assets from December to March had grown by 8.2 percent to 161,544.4 million rupees, while net […]

May 26, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank said group profits fell 12.9 percent to 892 million rupees in the March 2009 quarter, as its loan book shrank and the firm also changed the way it accounted for a troubled oil derivative sale. “In the future provisions will be provided after making an assessment […]

May 23, 2009 (LBO) – The Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka (MBSL) has been appointed as managing agents of the troubled The Finance Company (TFC), taking over from another state-owned entity, Lankaputhra Development Bank (LDB), the Central Bank said. It said in a statement that Lankaputhra Bank had stabilized the situation at TFC and brought […]

May 23, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-run Bank of Ceylon’s profits for March 2009 quarter rose 106 percent to 957 million rupees, with foreign exchange gains and interest income from high yielding government securities. Bank of Ceylon’s deposits grew 5.1 percent to 332 million from December 2008 to March 2009. Group gross assets grew […]

May 22, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank said it has relaxed the criteria for bids for a one-third stake in the troubled Seylan Bank after a poor response from prospective investors to its original call for proposals.It said in a statement the Monetary Board of the Central Bank has decided to invite fresh […]

May 21, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-run Bank of Ceylon had provided deposit and gold related services of more than 500 million rupees as displaced people in camps in northern Sri Lanka sought the safety of the bank, a top official said. Bank of Ceylon (BoC) chairman Gamini Wickramasinghe, said more than 10,000 people […]