Category: Banking and Finance

Oct 05, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s HDFC Bank, a state-backed mortgage lender, has been downgraded a notch from ‘A-(lka)’ to ‘BBB+(lka)’, on rising interest costs, with the outlook remaining ‘negative’, Fitch Ratings has said. Fitch also downgraded 250 million rupees of senior unsecured debentures due in 2010, 2015 and 2020 it issued in 2005, […]

Oct 05, 2008 (LBO) – US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s request from lawmakers for 700 billion dollars to bailout Wall Street banks, including one he was formerly chief executive of, Goldman Sachs, has spawned an American version of the Nigerian letter. This is a matter of great urgency. We need blank check. We need funds […]

WASHINGTON, October 3, 2008 (AFP) – US lawmakers Friday approved a historic financial rescue plan that was quickly signed into law, but the measure failed to calm financial markets nervous about a weak economy and credit crunch.The Bank of Japan said it injected 800 billion yen (7.6 billion dollars) into the financial system in the […]

Oct 03, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank promised more action against unauthorized deposit institutions but said those who lost money in recent Ponzi-style financial scams were victims of chasing high yields. Central Bank governor Nivard Cabraal said the central bank itself has spent millions of rupees advertising against high yield scams and pyramid […]

Oct 03, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s National Development Bank (NDB) said Friday it had got central bank approval to set up an investment bank in Bangladesh. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send to 678 The bank said in a stock exchange filing that it was waiting […]

Oct 02, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s former finance ministry secretary P B Jayasundera, who resigned as chairman from national carrier Sri Lankan Airlines, says he will be taking a break before taking up any new assignments. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send to 678 Jayasundera told […]

Oct 01, 2008 (LBO) – The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is organizing a banking road show in Ratnapura, in southern Sri Lanka, to help small and medium enterprises get access to finance.“There will also be sessions on handling complex loan applications, preparing business plans and project proposals, and establishing new banking products for small and […]

BRUSSELS, September 30, 2008 (AFP) – The European Union is considering a shake-up in accounting rules as part of measures aimed being drafted in response to the global financial crisis, an EU official said Tuesday.The idea is one among a series that are being looked into ahead of a high-level European economic meeting expected to […]

Oct 01, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Citibank unit has reported sharply higher profits from hedging deals, Fitch Ratings said, confirming its ‘AAA(lka)’ long term credit rating with a ‘Stable’ outlook.In the first half of 2008 85 percent of loans were to large corporates and 14.5 percent to the government of Sri Lanka and state […]

Sept 30, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Mercantile Investment Limited (MIL), a registered finance company, is raising 100 million rupees through a commercial paper which has been given a rating of ‘P1’, RAM Ratings said. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send to 678 RAM Ratings said MIL […]

FRANKFURT, September 29, 2008 (AFP) – Shares in German banks posted steep losses Monday as a distressed real-estate lender said it had been thrown a lifeline by a bank consortium while also issuing a profit warning. Chronic financial market turmoil, meanwhile, was met with fresh refinancing operations by the European Central Bank. Shares in Hypo […]

NEW YORK, September 29, 2008 (AFP) – US lawmakers agreed a 700-billion-dollar bailout of financial groups, but the financial hurricane slammed into European banks and global markets Monday amid doubts over whether the deal would get through Congress.Motomi Hiratsuka, a trader at BNP Paribas, said: “We know that we are most likely to avoid a […]