Category: Banking and Finance

May 21, 2009 (LBO) – RAM Ratings Lanka said a rating watch on Arpico Finance Company has been lifted after the company met a Central Bank requirement for minimum capital of 200 million rupees by March 2009. RAM Ratings Lanka said the regulator would assess the company’s core capital after financial were audited, but RAM […]

May 19, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank said it was giving a second chance for five qualified investors to buy a 33 percent stake in Seylan Bank because bids it received were not fully compliant with the conditions set by the regulator. The central bank’s governing body, the monetary board, said it would […]

May 13, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hatton National Bank (HNB) said its group net profit for the March quarter fell four percent to 712 million rupees from a year ago. Total assets of the HNB group were 268 billion rupees, up two percent from a year ago. Total group income rose 13 percent to […]

May 12, 2009 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Lanka said it has confirmed the ‘AA+(lka) national long-term rating of Commercial Bank, Sri Lanka’s largest private bank, with a stable outlook. It said in a statement the rating reflects the bank’s sustained strong financial profile amongst local commercial banks. Fitch has also confirmed Commercial Bank’s individual rating […]

LONDON, May 11, 2009 (AFP) – Global banking giant HSBC said on Monday that profits were rising strongly on the basis of first-quarter data and it saw “robust” growth in China and India, while remaining cautious for the year. First-quarter pre-tax profits were “well ahead” of the figure for the same period of last year, […]

May 9, 2009 (LBO) – Two Sri Lankan financial firms, Lanka Orix Leasing Company and Sampath Bank are most likely to have submitted bids for a one-third stake in Seylan Bank, market sources said. The successful bidder would have to inject at least 5.7 billion rupees to the bank in return for a 33 percent […]

May 08, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Nations Trust Bank (NTB) said group net profit for the March quarter rose 25 percent to 180 million rupees from a year ago.The bottom line was boosted by higher interest income as well as earnings from bond and forex trading although loan growth has slowed. NTB said in […]

May 07, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Sampath Bank has reported group profits of 397.4 million rupees in the March quarter, up 22 percent over last year, while revenues climbed 18 percent to 6.1 billion rupees on the back of higher state financing. Loan loss provision rose to 423 million rupees but a recovery of […]

May 07, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank said two short-listed prospective investors have submitted their bids for a controlling stake in Seylan Bank. Seylan is part of the troubled Ceylinco group. Seylan was put under the wings of state-run Bank of Ceylon by the regulator after a run on its deposits triggered by […]

May 05, 2009 (LBO) – Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka (MBSL) said its March quarter group net profit fell 5.8 percent to 29.8 million rupees from a year ago, with net interest income flat.MBSL is also acquiring control of Ceylinco Savings Bank (CSB), part of the troubled Ceylinco group, which suffered a run after another […]

May 04, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank which is collecting information on assets of Golden Key Credit Card, a collapsed financial firm, said its officials and past officials should declare assets by May 05. The Central Bank brought forward the deadline following a court order on April 27 which required information to be […]

April 30, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Pan Asia Bank said March quarter net profit rose 39 percent to 92 million rupees from a year ago, helped by a sharp rise non-interest income and steady growth in net interest income.The profit growth came despite sharply higher provisions for bad loans and a contraction in the […]