Category: Banking and Finance

May 11, 2007 (LBO) – Union Assurance has reported after-tax profit for the quarter ending March 2007 fell to 21 million rupees from 33 million in the same 2006 period. Life insurance premiums increased by 25% to 468 million rupees in March 2007 from 375 million rupees in March 2006. The company, in which the […]

A part of Sri Lanka’s Hatton National Bank automated teller machine system has encountered a technical problem and is being repaired at the moment, a bank official said.. Our whole network is not down but only 64 machines are down due to a communications problem, he said. The HNB banking network at present has 143 […]

May 09, 2007 (LBO) – The quality of corporate financial analysis in Sri Lanka is poor and the financial media is believed to be corrupt, a top business executive said Tuesday. Jayaratne said that it was a change in values and attitudes that was required, more than mere compliance with rules. Chandra Jayaratne, a former […]

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 […]