Category: Banking and Finance

July 04, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Sampath Bank is re-thinking the price of a rights issue and a share placement after market prices fell below the issue price, the bank said in a stock exchange filing.Sampath shares traded at 97 rupees on Friday. Sampath said the market price of the share dropped below the […]

July 4, 2008 (LBO) – Fitch Sri Lanka has today confirmed the BB+(lka) rating of Union Bank of Colombo (UB) saying its asset quality has improved, but more capital was needed to meet minimum requirements. UB’s existing loan book has concentrations to the export-import and wholesale trader segments through overdraft facilities which were 39 percent […]

July 3, 2008 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Lanka has confirmed Sampath Bank’s local long-term rating of ‘AA-(lka)’ with a stable outlook. It also confirmed the ratings on the bank’s outstanding unsecured debentures of 3.3 billion rupees at ‘A+(lka)’, and the bank’s Individual and Support ratings at ‘D/E’ and ‘5’. “The ratings reflect Sampath Bank’s strong […]

July 3, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Peoples’ Leasing Company (PLC) is selling a billion rupee 5-year bond to extend the maturity of its short term borrowings, Fitch Ratings which gave the security a ‘BBB+(lka)’ rating said. The leasing company, which is rated ‘A-(lka)’ with a ‘stable’ outlook, is planning to list the subordinated, unsecured […]

July 02, 2008 (LBO) – Ceylinco group chairman Lalith Kotelawala has demanded the Sri Lankan Central Bank adopt its own code of corporate governance.He said in a letter to Central Bank governor Nivard Cabraal that was released to the media that he will initiate legal action if the Central Bank fails to adopt such a […]

July 02, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank has relaxed exchange controls for emigrants in a move it said aimed at further promoting stable capital mobility and improving investor confidence in the country. The new rules allow previous emigrants to take out without any restriction balances in blocked accounts where their wealth had been […]

June 24, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s ABC Group says its tri-lingual credit card is gaining popularity, especially in rural areas, and consumers are relying more on credit with inflation soaring to 30 percent. Garment sector employees and rural youth apply for the card owing to its tri-lingual facility and ease of use, says Orville […]

June 19, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hatton National Bank (HNB) and DFCC Bank have set up a joint venture investment bank that they said would be better able to compete in local and regional markets. The joint venture called Acuity Partners (Pvt) Ltd., with an initial capital of 500 million rupees, will see the […]

June 17, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s People’s Leasing Company (PLC), a unit of state-run People’s Bank, will sell a 200 million rupee 12-month debenture, Fitch Ratings, which gave the issue an ”F1(lka)’ rating, said. A ‘F1(lka)’ national short-term rating indicates the strongest capacity for timely payment of financial commitments relative to other issuers or […]

June 16, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank said it has prepared a draft code of corporate governance for registered finance companies, based on the directions issued to licensed banks, that will come into effect from January 2009. It said in a statement that the draft took into consideration the views expressed by the […]

June 13, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Sampath Bank is offering a rate of 12.5 percent a year for savings deposits which maintain a balance of more than 50,000 rupees, the bank said. The savings deposit scheme branded ‘Hit Saver’ gives an annual effective rate of 13.24 percent, the bank said in a statement Friday. […]

June 11, 2008 (LBO) – Lanka Orix Leasing Company (LOLC), which introduced Islamic financing in Sri Lanka, says it wants to expand its portfolio to one billion rupees in one year, with growth so far relying on word-of-mouth publicity. “We are on a growth trend and we feel that the turbulence that we are seeing […]