Category: Banking and Finance

July 21, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s terror finance sleuths said two former ministers who had made claims about money being paid to Tamil Tigers are yet to complain to the unit that is charged with probing terrorist finance. Officials said persons could report suspicious activity in writing or email if they were satisfied that […]

July 20, 2007 (LBO) – HNB Assurance, a unit of Hatton National Bank, has tied up with the micro finance arm of Sarvodaya, a non-governmental organization, to launch micro insurance products for rural families.The micro insurance scheme ‘Sathkara’ has already been launched in Galle, Matara, Vavuniya and Batticaloa Sarvodaya societies as pilot projects to educate […]

July 20, 2007 (LBO) – A Sri Lanka-German initiative to give microfinance to tsunami victims had more than doubled its original target helping more than 2000 small business people and creating 6000 new job opportunities, officials said. At present 1.9 billion rupees is outstanding on 15,331 projects. The bank says the scheme has mobilized over […]

July 19, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s construction industry is looking for foreign partners to set up a machinery leasing company that would be especially useful for the large number of small and medium firms that dominate the sector. “The CCI is looking at having machinery and equipment to service the needs not only of […]

July 18, 2007 (LBO) – The financial journal Euromoney has named Commercial Bank as Sri Lanka’s best bank in its 2007 survey, the bank said Wednesday. The magazine’s Asian regional awards recognise the best banks in 16 countries. It has listed Commercial Bank alongside other country winners such as ICICI Bank (India), China Merchant Bank […]

July 17, 2007 (LBO) – DFCC Vardhana Bank (DVB) has teamed up with Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation (SLIC) to introduce insurance products to consumers in parallel to banking services. ‘Vardhana Assurance’ makes available life, motor and general insurance, covering marine, title, mortgage plans. “All life insurance policies will be underwritten by the SLIC,” Nalaka Godahewa, […]

July 17, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s gem and jewellery industry is lobbying for new financial instruments like ‘gold loans’ to get cost effective funds for those in the trade, especially small businesses. “Valuations can be dealt with,” said Ellawala. “But having it in the vault is not feasible. After all, this is your working […]

July 16, 2007 (LBO) –Asiri Hospitals group posted a 312.7 million rupee after tax profit for the year ending in March 31, 2007, up almost by half, despite the depreciation of the Sri Lanka rupee that increased the price of imported medical supplies and material. Another 17 percent is held by Softlogic Holdings, an electronics […]

July 15, 2007 (LBO) – A US government agency is giving credit guarantees to small Sri Lankan businesses to increase their access to loans from a specialized leasing firm, the US embassy in Colombo said. The guarantee would be given for up to 3 million US dollars (330 million Sri Lanka rupees) of money lent […]

July 12, 2007 (LBO) – Asian Finance is planning a merger with its parent company, Lanka Ratings (LRA) said, while confirming a negative outlook on the firm’s rating due to its high exposure to the share market. Lanka Ratings Agency confirmed BBB3 investment grade rating of Asian Finance. “The negative outlook is premised on the […]

July 12, 2007 (LBO) – The governing board of Sri Lanka’s central bank is filling a vacancy with President’s Counsel K C Kamalasabayson, the monetary authority said Thursday. He was educated at St. Thomas’ College Mount Lavinia and was conferred a First Class Honours Pass at the Advocates Final Examination from Sri Lanka Law College […]

July 09, 2007 (LBO) – At a time when the banking system is moving towards Basle II system, Sri Lanka’s insurance industry could benefit from the risk based capital (RBC) model, an international insurance professional has said. LBO: When you bring in something like RBC does it give you more flexibility to the industry? Webber: […]