Category: Banking and Finance

February, 9 (LBO) – A one-off pension charge hit Commercial Bank of Ceylon’s earnings in the last quarter, dragging down annual profits despite capital gains from equity sales, draft accounts released Friday said. The bank lost 276 million rupees in the December quarter as a 1,738 million rupee charge to a restructured pension scheme took […]

February 02 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s banks have reported much smaller volumes than previously expected, though state banks are yet to complete their reports, an official said. With only the Bank of Ceylon and People’s Bank yet to report dormant assets, information regarding 545 million rupees worth of assets have been collected, Acting Bank Supervisor, […]

Jan 31, 2007 (LBO) – HSBC in Sri Lanka is hoping to rope in more customers to its phone banking service by offering toll-free services in three languages for the first time in Sri Lanka, officials said. Though Sri Lanka does not have a toll free number system, HSBC has arranged with fixed and mobile […]

January 30 (LBO) – The central bank is planning to introduce new prudential regulations for credit cards, following their rapid use and growth in lending, an official said. Last year the government slapped a 10 rupee stamp duty on every 1000 rupees of purchases through credit cards.Up to last November Sri Lankan banks have issued […]

January 29, (LBO) – Seylan Bank is raising cash to boost its capital through a debenture issue, the bank said. The Ceylinco group, owns 19 percent of its voting sahres, while several employee share ownership trusts of Seylan hold 27 percent of its voting equity, according to Fitch Ratings. The bank will issue listed, unsecured […]

January 29, (LBO) – State Mortgage and Investment Bank has trimmed its non-performing loans sharply, the rating agency Fitch said, affirming the banks’ A (lka) rating with a stable outlook. Gross non-performing loans were cut down to 14.7 percent of gross loans by the third quarter of 2006, from 21 by the end of the […]

January 26, (LBO) – Fitch Ratings has upgraded National Development Bank’s credit outlook to positive from stable, but left the larger Commercial Bank’s outlook unchanged after the two firms said they were in talks to merge. It has 157 branches in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. NDB has assets of 59 billion rupees and is now […]

January 24 (LBO) –Commercial Bank of Ceylon and National Development Bank has entered into merger talks, the banks said Wednesday. “In the event the negotiations are successful, and the manner in which the merger may be achieved is agreed upon, the proposal for such merger will be submitted to the Monetary Board of the Central […]

Jan 25, 2007 (LBO) – Ceylon Theatres Group which has bagged 70 percent of Commercial Fund Management says it is looking to increase the group’s interests in financial services, by acquiring a fund managing firm. CT Capital now has to acquire the balance 30 percent of the shares which are held by Austalind, an overseas […]

January 24 (LBO) – The proposed merger of Sri Lanka’s National Development Bank and Commercial Bank will give the merged entity more clout to spread its wings in the region, officials said. “We want to create a large bank to go regional,” says Harris Premarathne Senior DGM of Commercial Bank. “The challenge we have is […]

January 22, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka plans probe deeper into the financial activities of non-governmental organizations, by beefing up its financial intelligence unit, Central Bank governor, Nivard Cabraal said Monday. Operating since July last year, the unit was set up to track foreign exchange dealings in excess of 5,000 dollars, to ensure unscrupulous people […]

Sri Lanka limited Friday the ownership of banks to prevent individuals or groups making hostile takeover bids that could destabilise the country’s small financial market. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka said an investor will be allowed to hold a maximum of 15 percent equity of any commercial bank and those who own more than […]