Category: Banking and Finance

April 22, 2008 (LBO) – A shareholder has asked Sri Lanka’s National Development Bank to return its excess capital to shareholders but its management says plans are on to use the money to better effect and the time is not right for a distribution. Mano Nanayakkara, an investment consultant who has a personal stake in […]

April 10, 2008 (LBO) – Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) has jumped two places to top the latest Forbes 2000 list of the world’s top public companies, the bank said Thursday. This is the first time a non-US company has led the rankings since its launch in 2004, it said in a statement. The […]

April 08, 2008 (LBO) – ABC Investments Limited has launched an Islamic credit card in Sri Lanka, in line with Islamic religious teachings and with strict rules on its usage, a company statement said. Updated The ‘ABC Barakah’ credit card does not carry interest or penalties for late payment which is considered forbidden under Islamic […]

April 05, 2008 (LBO) – The Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka (MBSL), a unit of state-run Bank of Ceylon , said it plans to get a banking license and expand its activities. . The bank will seek a licence from the regulator to operate as a ‘licensed specialised bank’, MBSL’s new chairman Janaka Ratnayake said […]

April 04, 2008 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings has cut Sri Lanka Telecom’s foreign currency credit rating by one notch to ‘B+’ after the country’s sovereign rating was slashed a day earlier, saying the exit of Japan’s NTT from the firm was not a reason for the downgrade. SLT’s local ratings were based on its own […]

April 03, 2008 (LBO) –Hong Kong Shanghai Bank Corporation’s Sri Lanka branch reported sharply lower profits for 2007 largely owing to losses from foreign exchange transactions while bad loans are on the rise. The bank’s profit for 2007 fell 36.63 percent to 1.57 billion rupees, according to published annual accounts. Interest income, however, increased by […]

April 03, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Sampath Bank launched a life insurance policy scheme for its customers Thursday in a tie-up with Eagle Insurance, saying it wants to further diversify its financial services. The bank, which has already diversified into leasing and stock brokering and general insurance, said its entry into life insurance will […]

April 01, 2008 (LBO) – RAM Ratings (Lanka) Tuesday announced Siti Norma Yaakob has been elected as the new chairman of the firm and its parent company, RAM Holdings Berhad. It also announced the appointment of three new directors: Zainal Aznam, Syed Md Amin and Yeah Kim Leng. Siti Norma is the former Chief Judge […]

March 30, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has an opportunity to tap capital surpluses of oil-rich Gulf countries like Qatar as well as export professional services for a booming construction industry there, a senior Gulf banker said.R Seetharaman, chief executive of Doha Bank, the largest private commercial bank in the State of Qatar, said the […]

Mar 30, 2008 (LBO) – Standard Chartered Bank which won a deal to raise 150 million dollars for the government earlier this month, is well positioned to boost fee based services, a top official said. A top player in foreign exchange markets and hedging products in the island, Standard Chartered Sri Lanka’s after tax profit […]

March 30, 2008 (LBO) – The emergence of non-bank entities that issue cards for payment services are a threat to traditional commercial banks, a Sri Lankan central banker said. The payments system is being transformed by new information technology and the integration of financial markets which has led to the emergence of non-bank actors, said […]

March 28, 2008 (LBO) — A quiz on capital markets hosted by investment research outsourcing firm Amba Research is on track to have more teams this year with accounting bodies joining universities in the event. “Unlike last year, in addition to universities, we will be opening up this event to ACCA/CIMA institutes as well. We […]