Category: Banking and Finance

Mar 15, 2009 (LBO) – India’s Satyam collapsed due to the company pouring millions of dollars into undisclosed real estate assets that delivered inflated profits, but crashed soon after the property bubble burst, a visiting financial expert said. On January 09, 2009, the Bombay stocks plunged more than seven percent when Ramalinga Raju, chairman of […]

Mar 14, 2009 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings has put the ‘BBB-(lka)’ rating of Sri Lanka’s People’s Merchant Bank (PMB) on a negative watch after the firm said it was taking over an unlisted financial firm whose financial profile was uncertain, the rating agency said.PMB, a listed firm which is 39 percent owned by Sri Lanka’s […]

March 14, 2009 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Lanka has confirmed the ‘A-(lka)’ rating of People’s Leasing Company (PLC) with a stable outlook following its announcement of a possible takeover of a rival leasing firm, Seylan Merchant Leasing (SML). Fitch said it believes the firm’s stronger financial profile should be able to comfortably absorb SML, which […]

Mar 13, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hatton National Bank (HNB) said it is going ahead with overseas expansion in South Asia and the Middle East despite a global economic crunch and political turmoil. HNB had gone into Oman to push remittances through Majan Exchange LLC, which is 40 percent owned by the bank. “We […]

Mar12, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Sampath Bank group has posted a profit of 1.49 billion rupees for the 2008 financial year, up 30 percent from 2007, in what its senior management called a tough year to operate in. During 2008 Sampath’s interest income had jumped by 30.1 percent to 19.4 billion, while interest expenses […]

Mar 12, (LBO) – Prosecutors, customers and officials of Sri Lanka’s failed Golden Key Credit Card Company of the Ceylinco group are to discuss a trust arrangement to sell assets to generate cash, after court ordered a halt to assets sales of the company and subsidiaries. Bail He wanted Kotelawala to be released on bail […]

Mar 10, 2009 (LBO) – Managers of Sri Lanka’s state-run pension fund of private sector workers, under fire for investing funds for state purposes as a ‘captive’ source, have said the fund is operating well. In an interview, officials managing the EPF denied all suggestions of impropriety, conflict of interest, or coming under pressure to […]

Mar 10, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hatton National Bank group has reported profits of 3,830 million rupees in 2008, down 10.1 percent over the previous year on interest income of 38.7 billion rupees which grew 20.7 percent. Loan loss provisions increased 27.6 percent to 1,159 million rupees, while 259 million rupees was charged for […]

March 08, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Nations Trust Bank (NTB) said group net profit rose 17 percent to 593 million rupees in 2008 from a year ago and that it managed to increase market share.Group total income in the financial year ending December 31, 2008 rose 49 percent to 13.9 billion rupees with net […]

Mar 06, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank said it is looking for managing agents for two registered finance companies in the troubled Ceylinco group and a management shake-up is on the cards for another. Managing agents were being sought for Asian Finance and Ceylinco Investment and Realty under central bank monitoring while the […]

March 06, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s largest leasing company is in talks to buy a leasing company in the island’s Ceylinco group, a listed investment bank in the group said in a stock exchange filing.Seylan Merchant Bank is in talks with People’s Leasing Company, a unit of state-run People’s Bank, to sell a controlling […]

Mar 06, 2009 (LBO) – Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka, (MBSL) a unit of state-run Bank of Ceylon, said it was in talks with the regulator to manage and rehabilitate Ceylinco Savings Bank, a member of the island’s troubled Ceylinco group. In another development Seylan Merchant Bank said it was in talks with People’s Leasing […]