Category: Banking and Finance
Ombudsmen of Sri Lanka and Türkiye signs bilateral cooperation MoU
On the sidelines of the International Ombudsman Conference 2023, the Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (Ombudsman) of Sri Lanka and Ombudsman Institution of Türkiye has entered into Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) recently in Ankara. The Memorandum of Understanding between the Office Ombudsman of Sri Lanka and Ombudsman Institution of Türkiye was signed in the presence […]
Fitch downgrades National Long-Term Ratings of 10 Sri Lankan banks
Fitch Ratings has downgraded the National Long-Term Ratings of 10 Sri Lankan banks following the recent sovereign downgrade and recalibration of the agency’s Sri Lankan national rating scale. The recalibration is to reflect changes in the relative creditworthiness among Sri Lankan issuers following Fitch’s downgrade of Sri Lanka’s Long-Term Local Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) […]
Central Bank introduces measures to reduce overdependence on Standing Facilities
The liquidity deficit in the domestic money market, which remained significantly high during the first half of 2022, declined in the latter part of 2022. However, in spite of the improvements in money market liquidity conditions, market interest rates continued to remain high, partly due to subdued activity in the domestic money markets. At the […]
ComBank introduces ‘Visa Direct’ & ‘Mastercard Send’ card-to-card fund transfers – a first in SL
The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has announced the enabling of ‘Visa Direct’ and ‘Mastercard Send’ card-based fund transfer facilities for the first time in Sri Lanka. With this latest digital initiative of Commercial Bank, Visa and Mastercard Debit and Prepaid cardholders can transfer funds to any locally-issued Visa and Mastercard Debit, Credit or Prepaid card […]
David Cameron visits Port City Colombo
Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron, visited Port City Colombo development project during a private trip to the island. Cameron engaged in a discussion with Reyaz Mihular – Commission Member and Vindhya Weerasekera – Director Legal and Corporate Affairs of the Colombo Port City Economic Commission; Yang Lu – Managing Director of […]
Central Bank directs Kanrich Finance to settle liabilities of depositors
The Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka as a measure to strengthen the Non-Bank Financial Institutions Sector under the ‘Masterplan for Consolidation’ decided to direct Kanrich Finance Limited (KFL) to settle its public liabilities in full within the period from 26.12.2022 to 28.02.2023 in terms of Section 25(1)(m) of the Finance Business […]
USAID, Keells & HNB Partner to Provide USD 4Mn Lending Facility in Sri Lanka
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) coordinates with Keells Supermarkets and Hatton National Bank (HNB) on an innovative supply chain financing facility that supports micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the food sector to access capital. Through greater access to capital, this facility reduces the supply chain disruptions that emerged during the […]
Sampath Bank partners with Dialog to introduce eZ Banking
In an effort to triple its customer touch points and add unparalleled levels of banking convenience to its valuable customers, Sampath Bank has taken a significant step in the Agent Banking Model by entering an agreement with Sri Lanka’s largest mobile network operator Dialog Axiata PLC to introduce eZ Banking. With the opening of this […]
‘s Local Currency IDR to CCC-; Maintains RWN
Fitch Ratings has downgraded Bank of Ceylon’s (BOC) Long-Term Local-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘CCC-‘ from ‘CCC’ and maintained it on Rating Watch Negative (RWN). At the same time, Fitch has affirmed BOC’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency IDR and Short-Term IDR at ‘RD’, Viability Rating (VR) at ‘f’ and Government Support Rating at ‘ns’. BOC’s National […]
Cinnamon Air Resumes Daily Scheduled Flights in Paradise
Cinnamon Air, Sri Lanka’s premier domestic airline, has resumed daily scheduled flights after a temporary suspension during the COVID-19 pandemic. The airline is the only domestic carrier in Sri Lanka offering daily scheduled flights and the only such airline to operate flights from the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) with a dedicated passenger terminal and aircraft […]
ComBank raises Rs10bn after debenture oversubscribed on opening day
The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has announced that its Rs 10 billion debenture issue closed within hours of opening after it was oversubscribed on opening day, Thursday 1st December 2022, in a noteworthy vote of confidence from investors. The debentures to the value of Rs 10 billion are being issued to further strengthen the Tier […]
CBSL expects downward adjustment in bank interest rates; looking at imposing administrative measures
The Monetary Board of the Central Bank has noted with concern the anomalous rise in market interest rates, particularly deposit interest rates and short term lending interest rates, despite the recent improvements in overall money market conditions and the adverse implications on business and economic activity. “The Central Bank would expect a moderation of excessive […]