Category: Banking and Finance

The 100 percent Capital Allowance for a company quote s IT investments and Capital Allowance to buy up existing commercial property, are identified as key concessions to boost operating leases. rnrnEarlier, Capital Allowances were only available for newly constructed commercial property and approved condominiums. rnrnIn the new tax regime, operating leases offer twin tax benefits […]

Neville Ubeysinghe Jayawardene quote s contribution to the banking industry and his various enterprises was a hallmark in the local business community. He courted both fame and controversy during his life. rnrnStarting his career as a Junior Clerk in 1925 at the District Road Committee in Hambantota, he later moved on to become the Controller […]

The budget proposals today scrapped the 20 percent surcharge levied on corporate taxation and raised the tax exempt personal income to Rs. 240,000 per annum from Rs. 144,000.

Finance Minister K N Choksy plans to enact fresh legislations to lure tax evaders.The law, he said, will not place a premium on tax evasion nor is it a form of tax amnesty. rnTax dodgers can park their monies in specified development areas like agriculture, industry or utility services; or in treasury bonds or in […]

Forex licences are currently limited to licensed commercial banks and money brokers. rnrnFinancial Institutes like DFI quote s are currently barred from carrying out trade financing activities due to the lack of a forex licence. rnrnldblquote There is no reason why the commercial banks should be the only forex dealers. Licenses should be broad based […]

A senior government official warned that the economy is in a silent crisis, which is evident in the balance sheets of the banks.rnArjuna Mahendran, BOI Chairman and a key player in the government economic think tank, unveiled a structure of a debt recovery agency called lquote Recovery and Collection Agency quote or RACA as a […]

A top rung Economists is suggesting the government converts one of the two state owned commercial banks to a Non-Performing Loan (NPL) management agency in view of clearing the local financial sectors financial overhang. rnrnldblquote Most Sri Lankan banks cannot provide the risk capital or seed capital to high potential businesses because of their bad […]

Issues ranging from market regulators incompetence to issues that are strangling the debt market, the insurance sector, the Central Bank quote s role, exchange control regulations will be hotly debated over the three day conference starting March 18. rnrnThe absence of a long-term bond market, which will resolve the current maturity mismatches between loans and […]

According to the study, the local banking sector is saddled with a 19 percent NPL ratio and only few banks record a NPL ratio below 10 percent.Cost to income ratio endash a key efficiency indicator endash is also recorded well above 80 percent for some banks. rnrnIn addition, findings reveal a heavy reliance on collateral […]

At least two local banks are carrying out due diligence studies to make a bid, informed market sources told Lanka Business Online. rnrnLeading consultancy, Ernst & Young is expected to conduct the due diligence for the prospective bidders, that include Commercial Bank, whose Chairman declared the banks strategy to grow through acquisitions last week and […]

The government today expressed its interest to dispose its 39 percent stake in NIC to the highest bidder. The employees control 10 percent of the company. rnrnThe government quote s privatisation arm, the Public Enterprise Reform Commission, has called for Expressions of Interest to be submitted by April 8. rnrnJanashakthi picked up NIC quote s […]

The Mercantile Merchant Bank Ltd (MMBL), one of the two local agents for the Western Union has set on a aggressive expansion drive that will double its 25 sub agent network by the end of this year. rnrnldblquote We are looking at areas with high inward remittances. In North and East we will be opening […]