Category: Banking and Finance

July 6, 2006 (LBO) – A top Sri Lankan housing bank has asked the government to exempt housing mortgage lenders from upcoming law aimed at helping smaller defaulters, as it will curtail the growth of the entire housing loan market.HDFC Bank, a publicly listed bank originally set up by the government, is facing the threat […]

July 3, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Credit Information Bureau or CRIB has warned all banks to come clean and name large scale defaulters or risk paying a fine or prison term. Central Bank’s deputy governor Ranee Jayamaha says CRIB has warned errant banks to expect a fine of 50,000 rupees each for not disclosing […]

July 2, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has several unused credit lines awaiting disbursement, while small and medium industrialists complain that they cannot get loans. The Money Report talked to Lionel Somaratne, a veteran development banker who has been hired by the International Finance Corporation help improve SME access to finance and also improve the […]

July 2, 2006 (LBO) – A senior central banker has strongly criticized the practice of banks of not reporting influential defaulting clients to the Credit Information Bureau (CRIB). Some banks have also started giving multiple identity card numbers of certain clients to the CRIB, in order to avoid being black listed by the credit information […]

June 29, 2006 (LBO) – Small Sri Lankan banks are facing the threat of weaker credit ratings, following a government move to lift a law that allows banks to speed-up foreclosure on assets pledged against smaller loans.But state banks are excluded from the project.Bankers have already warned that the move to stop parate execution – […]

June 28, 2006 (LBO) – A collective agreement covering the salaries and benefits of the state bank employees is due to be signed Thursday, Sri Lanka’s largest bank employees union said. After two-years training, the government has agreed to absorb the trainees into the permanent cadre, main union said.More than 20,000 state-bank employees would get […]

June 27, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapakse Tuesday launched a new state-own development bank aimed at assisting small and medium scale entrepreneurs. The Lankaputhra Development Bank, kicked off with 1.5 billion rupee seed capital from the treasury, with a further 2.0 billion rupees expected from the Private Sector Infrastructure Development Fund. “We […]

June 23, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s housing authority is to set up a low income housing fund to help re-locate people in Colombo’s under-served areas, run-down state flats and shanties.Run by the Urban Development Authority, the Fund is to be set up with seed capital from the Treasury and partly through internal funds. “We […]

June 22, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Thursday appointed Ajith Nivard Cabraal as the governor of the Central Bank, president Mahinda Rajapakse’s office said in a statement. A chartered accountant by profession, Cabraal was earlier the secretary to the Plan and Implementation Ministry and a top economic advisor to Rajapakse. Cabraal succeeds businessman Sunil Mendis […]

June 22, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will merge several state-owned banks catering to small medium sector enterprises into one larger bank, a top government official said. Economists say Sri Lanka’s post-independent economic history is littered with ill- considered government policy decisions that ultimately backfire on the very persons they are intended to help. updated […]

June 21, 2006 (LBO) – State Bank of India plans to expand its reach in Sri Lanka, making use of an upsurge in business climate since the February 2002 ceasefire, a top official said Wednesday. The Indian giant has been present in Sri Lanka since 1864, but has been sort of a late comer to […]

June 18, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s financial sector has been a favorite target of fiscal authorities during the past few years. In addition to an increase in the income tax rate, the sector also has a debit tax on cheque transactions, a turnover tax on credit cards, and another income tax based tax called […]