Category: Banking and Finance

May 14, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-run Bank of Ceylon has seen margins squeezed in 2007 amidst directed lending and rising funding costs, but has pushed up fee income and cut bad loans in the period. In 2007 group revenue rose 40 percent to 52.3 billion rupees while interest income rose 56 percent to […]

May 07, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Nations Trust Bank (NTB) group profits grew 41 percent to 144.2 million rupees in the March quarter with total revenue growing by half, interim results filed with the stock exchange showed. Group revenue was up 50 percent to 2,991 million rupees and interest expense grew 58 percent to […]

May 06, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank’s group profits grew 11.4 percent to 1,024 million rupees in the March quarter with revenue growing 37.7 percent, accounts filed with the stock exchange showed. Group revenue was up 37.7 percent to 10.2 billion rupees and interest expense grew 49.7 percent to 5.89 billion while net […]

April 30, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s inflation hit an all-time high of 25.0 percent in the 12-months to April 2008 on a new index to measure consumer prices in Colombo, while an older index showed an increase of 29.9 percent, the government’s statistics office said. . The new Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI-N) grew […]

April 28, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan finance companies should reduce maturity mis-matches between their assets and liabilities an official said. When interest rates go up the value of fixed rate assets come down, said Naomal Goonewardena, partner, Nithya Partners. He was speaking on the legal responsibilities of directors of finance firms at a seminar […]

April 29, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s main private sector retirement fund has made billions real losses in in 2007 as the state used the monetary system to inflate away debt at the expense of the private sector workers in the country, the latest data shows. The Wall Street Journal this week slammed the Fed […]

April 26, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan finance companies should improve governance practices voluntarily before external rules are imposed and whistle-blowers get active under new laws, a corporate lawyer says. Good corporate governance practices could yield direct financial benefits to finance companies while giving them a lifeline if wrongdoings are uncovered, says Arittha Wikramanayake, senior […]

April 25, 2008 (LBO) – NDB Bank says it has done well with a low cost to income ratio, and having the lowest non-performing loans among local banks while being profitable and having a strong balance sheet. “The bank’s low cost income ratio among local banks also reflects its stability while the growth in its […]

April 24, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank has given more time for founding directors and chairmen of banks to serve on the boards beyond the original nine years specified by the regulator. “These additional transitional provisions give special consideration to the role and contribution of Founding Directors and Incumbent Chairmen to the promotion […]

April 24, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Fitch Ratings has confirmed Commercial Bank of Ceylon’s ‘AA+(lka)’ rating with a stable outlook, citing the bank’s good profitability, asset quality, strong solvency, high capitalization and its standing among local banks. Fitch also confirmed the banks ‘individual rating at ‘D’ and support rating at ‘5’. The ‘AA(lka)’ rating […]

April 24, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s financial regulator Thursday told finance companies to carefully monitor liquidity and be more aware of risks to ensure they survive the current financial markets turmoil. This was because the collapse of one firm could have a domino effect on the whole system, Central Bank governor Ajit Nivard Cabraal […]

April 23, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Fitch Ratings has upgraded Sanasa Development Bank’s speculative grade by one notch to BB(lka) with a stable outlook, the rating agency said. “The upgrade reflects the materialisation of SDB’s planned capital program, and is supported by the bank’s good profitability and asset quality, albeit constrained somewhat by the […]