Category: Banking and Finance

Dec 05, 2008 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Lanka has assigned a ‘BB+)’ national long-term rating to Pan Asia Banking Corporation’s (PABC) proposed unsecured, redeemable five-year subordinated debenture issue of up to 150 million rupees. At the same time, the agency said in a statement it confirmed PABC’s national long-term rating at ‘BBB-‘ with a stable […]

Dec 04, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Nations Trust Bank (NTB) has raised one billion rupees through a 5-year private placement, an official said. The unsecured subordinated redeemable debenture would boost its tier two capital adequacy ratio. The bank issued 100 million debentures with a face value of 100 rupees paying 21 percent a year. […]

Dec 04, 2008 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings has cut the outlook of Sri Lanka’s The Finance Company (TFC) from ‘stable’ to ‘negative’ but confirmed its investment grade ‘BBB(lka)’ long term national rating. As a result, TFC’s portfolio growth was just 9 percent in the 2008 financial year from 33 percent the year before while cash […]

Dec 02, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Sampath Bank has launched chip-embedded credit cards in a bid to outsmart credit card fraudsters who are increasingly targeting the country, officials said. Countries like Malaysia which had become credit card ‘hot spots’ had managed to fight off fraud with computer chip-embedded ‘smart’ cards. “Due to chip technology […]

Dec 01, 2008 (LBO) – Net profits of state-run Bank of Ceylon fell 5.6 percent in the 9-months to September while revenues grew 20.6 percent to 43.9 billion rupees, interim accounts published by the bank showed. Deposits grew to 325.6 billion rupees from 310.4 billion rupees in the nine months. Savings accounts grew to 141.3 […]

Dec 01, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Standard Chartered Bank unit has reported a net profit increase of 55 percent to 1,803 million rupees in the 9-months ended September 2008, while revenues climbed 29 percent to 7,338 million rupees. The bank had gross assets of 78.9 billion rupees and net assets of 12.7 billion rupees […]

Dec 01, 2008 (LBO) – Profits of the Sri Lanka unit of Citibank soared 134 percent in the 9-months to September 2008 to 1,276 million rupees, driven by a steep increase in fee income, while revenues grew 38.9 percent to 2,247 million rupees, its interim accounts showed.Citibank Sri Lanka had gross assets of 20.7 billion […]

Nov 29, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Standard Chartered Bank unit says it was not directly affected by a court order which halted payments due under a hedge it arranged for a state-run oil distributor and said it welcomed a probe into the deal.Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court Friday ordered the country’s central bank to probe […]

Nov 28, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s National Development Bank’s net profits for the September 2008 quarter rose 18 percent to 351 million rupees, interim accounts showed, while revenues climbed 20 percent to 3,169 million rupees. During the 9-months to September, performing loans and advances had growth 15 percent to 57.2 billion rupees. Total deposits […]

Nov 28, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hatton National Bank group profits were up 6 percent to 807.3 million rupees with revenues up 16 percent to 9,665.3 million rupees in the 9-months to September, accounts filed with the Colombo Stock Exchange showed. Group gross assets were 256.5 billion rupees, up 6 percent from December 2007 […]

Nov 26, 2008 (LBO) – An Aston Martin car, believed to be one of few such vehicles in Sri Lanka has been seized following action filed by HSBC Bank, lawyers said. Sri Lanka’s banking sector has seen a spike in non-performing loans, after interest rates rose. The car had been seized Wednesday under an order […]

Nov 25, 2008 (LBO) – Profits at HSBC Sri Lanka has increased 94 percent to 1,664 million rupees in the first 9-months of 2008 despite large loan write-offs and rising interest expenses, published interim accounts showed. Interest income grew 22 percent to 14.1 billion rupees, interest expenses grew 31 percent to 6,450 million rupees while […]