Category: Banking and Finance

Sept 24, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central banks said it had tightened a law on finance businesses closing several loopholes and allowing authorities to probe unlicensed businesses more easily. A new bill on Finance Business passed by parliament on September 21, will replace an existing Finance Companies Act brought in 1998, the central bank […]

Sept 23, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Seylan Bank was upgraded by one notch to ‘A-(lka) from ‘BBB+(lka) with a stable outlook on state support, improved credit profile and capital injections, Fitch, a rating agency said. By June 2011, the state had a 30 percent effective control of the lender’s voting stock. By the first […]

Sept 22, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s National Development Bank is positioning itself to push ‘big ticket’ deals in global markets partnering with Singapore’s DBS Bank as the end of a war bring new investment opportunities, officials said. NDB Bank group chief executive said Russell de Mel said an investment banking partnership with Singapore’s DBS […]

Sept 21, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s National Development Bank said it was in talks with DBS of Singapore to strengthen its investment banking operations. NDB said a memorandum of understanding with DBS will e signed today. DBS started in 1968 as the Development Bank of Singapore but is now a financial services group with […]

Sept 21, 2011 (LBO) – RAM Ratings Lanka has confirmed Sampath Bank’s long- and short-term financial institution ratings at AA and P1 with the long-term rating carrying a stable outlook. We also derive comfort from the Bank’s healthy internal capital-generation rate of 20.38% as at end-Dec 2010, which stands the best among its similar-rated peers. […]

Sept 19, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank has promoted three assistant governors, P Nandalal Weerasinghe, B D W A Silva and C Premeratne to the posts of deputy governor, a statement said. Weerasinghe and Silva were promoted with effect from September 27, 2011 and Premeratne is to be promoted with effect from January […]

Sept 19, 2011 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Lanka has confirmed Citibank N.A. – Colombo Branch’s (CitiSL) national long-term rating at ‘AAA(lka)’ with a stable outlook. “CitiSL’s rating reflects Citibank N.A.’s (Citibank) financial strength,” it said in a statement. “Given that CitiSL is a branch and part of the same legal entity as Citibank, Fitch believes […]

Sept 19, 2011 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Lanka has assigned Senkadagala Finance’s (SFC) proposed senior unsecured redeemable debentures of up to 300 million rupees a ‘BBB+(lka)’ rating. The agency has also confirmed and withdrawn the ‘BBB+(lka)’ rating on SFC’s proposed listed debenture issuance of a billion rupees scheduled to take place in March 2011 due […]

Sept 12, 2011 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Lanka has confirmed National Savings Bank’s (NSB) National Long-Term rating at ‘AAA(lka)’ with a stable outlook. “NSB’s rating reflects its full state ownership and importance to the government in terms of its stipulated policy role of mobilising retail savings and investing in government securities (GS),” a statement said. […]

Sep 07, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank is offering companies an electronic payment service for Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) payments via its ˜Paymaster’ system. “Payments via Paymaster can be made by simply uploading a file to Commercial Bank’s web platform,” a statement said. “There are no limits to the number of transactions and […]

Sep 01, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank has begun concessionary long term lending from an investment fund created with savings made from tax cuts under a proposal made in the government’s 2011 budget. The statement said state institutions can now borrow direct from local banks instead of being dependent on Treasury borrowings from […]

Aug 29, 2011 (LBO) – HSBC Sri Lanka’s ‘AAA(lka)’ rating has been confirmed by Fitch Ratings Lanka with a stable outlook based on the strength of its parent which has a rating higher than the island’s sovereign rating. Fitch said HSBC Sri Lanka branch was part of the same legal entity of Hong Kong & […]