Category: Banking and Finance

May 7, 2007 (LBO) – A local bank and an international micro-finance specialist have tied up with the world’s largest bank to widen banking access to local micro enterprises, officials said Monday. Citigroup Foundation with the Foundation for Development Co-operation (FDC) and Banking with a Poor Network (BWTP) is helping micro-finance organizations build links with […]

May 08, 2007 (LBO) — Sri Lanka has appointed a special presidential commission to probe finance companies that went bust in the past, after the country’s top whistle-blower found fault with monetary authorities for not recovering large amounts due to the state. Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse has picked justice Priyantha Perera to head the […]

May 08, 2007 (LBO) – Hatton National Bank’s group net profit grew 33 percent to 344 million rupees with a strong 46 percent growth in foreign exchange earnings bringing in 246 million rupees, its March quarter accounts released Tuesday showed. The interest income grew to 5.7 billion rupees from 4.2 billion. At bank level, net […]

May 08, 2007 (LBO) – Commercial Bank has reported group net profit growth of 37 percent to 1,028.8 million rupees for the first quarter ended March, with revenue rising 41 percent to 7,461.1 million rupees. In results released to the Colombo Stock Exchange, the bank said the profit gain was helped by a deferred taxation […]

May 01, 2007 (LBO) – Bank of Ceylon said it had completed Sri Lanka’s largest international syndicated loan when it raised 210 million dollars in a 3-year facility arranged by HSBC. “The success of this loan syndication epitomises the resourcefulness of the global giant HSBC in being able to draw on their international expertise and […]

April 29, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka cut power to the capital Colombo early Sunday local time, when millions were watching their team bat in the finals of the World Cup, after a suspected Tamil Tiger aircraft intrusion from the north western part of the island. Go to LBO front page at www.lbo.lk for updates […]

April 28, 2007 (LBO) – A deal to sell a prime commercial property belonging to a troubled state trading firm to a state-bank has got deadlocked with creditors scrambling after the property, but the bank has recovered an advance that it paid, a top official said. Last year the bank made 1,919 million rupees in […]

April 27, 2007 (LBO) – State-owned Bank of Ceylon’s syndicated dollar loan has been able to raise more money than originally envisaged. (US Dollar = 110 rupees) Updated There had been substantial interest from prospective lenders allowing the loan size to be enhanced, an official said. The deal, arranged with bookrunner HSBC, was earlier scheduled […]

April 27, 2007 (LBO) – The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has joined hands with six Sri Lankan private banks to educate small and medium enterprise (SME) owners on getting loans to finance their business. Local banks are heavily weighted towards collateral-based lending, instead of project-based lending, which makes it difficult for smaller firms to access […]

April 26, 2007 (LBO) – Islamic Financier Amana Investments Limited has introduced a new microfinance scheme for micro-entrepreneurs who cannot afford conventional banking. The company has joined hands with Muslim Aid, a UK-based NGO that will help provide skills training to entrepreneurs. We target small entrepreneurs who cannot access banking and uplift them to a […]

April 25, 2007 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings has affirmed Merchant Credit of Sri Lanka’s investment grade BBB (lka) rating but said the finance companies non-performing loans were on the rise and profitability had fallen. Fitch said the outlook was stable and the rating took into account the implied support assumed to be available from its […]

April 24, 2007 (LBO) – High negative real rates paid to savers have seen deposit growth at Sri Lanka’s National Savings Bank plunge to a record low in 2006, the bank’s latest accounts show. NSB said it was the first state sector enterprise to present its annual report to the public. NSB’s deposits grew by […]