Category: Banking and Finance

Dec 18, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is issuing its first currency note under the signature of Governor Nivard Cabraal with added security features to battle a rising threat of counterfeiting, the Central Bank said. The note is dated 2006.07.03. The one thousand rupee note will have upgraded security features to battle an “increasing threat” […]

Dec 17, 2007 (LBO) – Senior central banker P M Nagahawatte would be appointed as chairman of the National Development following the resignation of its long-time chairman, the bank said Monday. S K Wickremesinghe who was chairman of NDB for nine years has resigned with effect from January 01. Sena Yaddehige has been confirmed as […]

Dec 14, 2007 (LBO) – Western Union has rapidly expanded its money transfer network in Sri Lanka through its tie up with Aitken Spence and is eyeing a bigger share of the three billion dollar foreign remittance market. Company officials said they also want to tap the estimated two billion dollars sent to the island […]

Dec 13, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Nations Trust Bank is making a one billion rupee cash call sweetened with warrants, giving an option to buy into the bank at a fixed price in 2010 and 2011, the company said Thursday. NTB has 31 branches, 8 leasing centers, 38 teller machines and issues American Express […]

Dec 11, 2007 (LBO) – Fitch Sri Lanka has confirmed John Keells Holdings (JKH) national ‘AAA (lka)’ rating with a stable outlook, but expressed concern that most of its cash is generated by bunkering and container operations. “JKH’s ratings reflect its strong cash flow generation and increasing earnings diversity,” Fitch said. But the rating agency […]

Dec 07, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s private sector credit is slowing but lenders should tighten standards and improve risk management as interest rates continue to rise, the Central Bank has warned. In a report on the island’s financial sector stability, the regulator said private sector credit has grown around 24-26 percent in the first […]

Dec 07, 2007 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Sri Lanka has lifted Union Bank of Colombo’s outlook on its BB + (lka) rating to ‘positive’ from ‘stable’ citing an asset quality improvement. “The recent equity injections and the benefits expected, specifically to profitability and scalability of the bank’s business is reflected in the revision of the […]

Dec 06, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s financial and accounting regulators are developing more reliable ways of valuing trees in forestry firms, the Sri Lanka Accounting Auditing Standards Monitoring Board (SLAASMB) said. “When finalized, the guidelines will provide a reliable basis to value biological assets,” the SLAASMB said. “It will provide preparers, auditors and regulators […]

Dec 05, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Sampath Bank is looking to lend more money in the Maldives with 45 million dollars raised through a syndicated loan arranged by HSBC Bank, officials said. . “We already have a portfolio of about two million dollars in the Maldives,” Samapath Bank chief Anil Amarasuriya said. The bank […]

Dec 03, 2007 (LBO) – Central Finance, one of the biggest Sri Lankan finance companies, said September quarter net profit rose seven percent to 283 million rupees from a year ago. Total income was up 24 percent to 1.6 billion rupees, according to interim results sent to the Colombo Stock Exchange. Net interest income of […]

Dec 03, 2007 (LBO) – Lanka Orix Leasing Company (LOLC) said September quarter net profit fell 48 percent to 86 million rupees from a year ago with a sharp increase in provisioning for bad loans. It also said the company acquired 2,600,000 shares (29.18 percent) of Touchwood Investments Limited and 4,982,953 shares (20 percent) of […]

Nov 28, 2007 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Lanka has assigned a ‘B+(lka)’ National Long-term rating to Sri Lanka’s Vallibel Finance Ltd. (VFL) with a stable outlook. VFL, a small registered finance company with a single office in Colombo, has managed to improve growth and shift to more profitable businesses since it was acquired by Dhammika […]