Category: Banking and Finance

Mar 29, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s People’s Merchant Bank, a listed company, said it will sell People’s Merchant Finance Company Ltd, a 99 percent owned registered finance company, for 430 million rupees. The firm will be sold to Capital Alliance Holdings, an investment banking firm, if regulatory approval is given, PMB said in a […]

Mar 28, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka loans to business from commercial banks rose 28.1 percent in January 2011 from a year earlier to 1,530 billion rupees, central bank data showed as inflation concerns also rose in the island. Under Sri Lanka’s flawed monetary law, which critics say has made the country prone to high […]

Mar 25, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s banking regulator plans to limit exposure of banks to the stock market to prevent the risk of a downturn in equities affecting the financial sector, a senior central bank official said. Samarasiri, who spoke at a public forum on how the central bank revived finance companies that collapsed […]

Mar 25, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s NDB Bank has joined a World Bank credit scheme to channel low cost loans to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through eight lending institutions. SMEs with an annual turnover of less than 300 million rupees operating in a large number of sectors are eligible to apply under concessionary […]

Mar 25, 2011 (LBO) – Fresh capital will soon be given to the remaining Sri Lankan finance companies that got into trouble two years ago, prompting intervention by the banking regulator, senior central bank officials said. “It has taken over two years but was much quicker than the liquidation process.” Strategic investors have been found […]

Mar 22, 2011 (LBO) – Senkadagala Finance, a closely-held registered finance company, was allowed to trade on Colombo’s Stock Exchange on March 22, but there were no deals despite offers going up to ten times its net asset value, dealers said. The CSE is shortly to bring minimum ‘free float’ limits for listed companies to […]

Mar 21, 2011 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Lanka has assigned Senkadagala Finance Company’s (SFC) proposed senior unsecured redeemable listed debentures of up to a billion rupees a ‘BBB+(lka)’ rating. The company was established in 1968 by the Balasuriya family, who owns 90 percent of SFC’s equity. The agency has simultaneously confirmed SFC’s National Long-Term rating […]

Mar 19, 2011 (LBO) – Top organizations representing Sri Lanka’s lawyers and accountants have brought together experts in Islamic finance to broaden understanding of one of the faster growing niches in the financial sector. The program will introduce the concept deal with equity investments, accounting for Islamic finance, corporate governance, the regulatory framework, legal and […]

Mar 17, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank said it is accepting application for loans which has repayment periods of up to 10 years under a small and medium enterprise loan scheme funded by a World Bank credit line. Commercial Bank of Ceylon is one of seven participating banks in the credit line, which […]

Mar 17, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lankan bank customers have been warned by the Information and Communications Technology Agency to be wary of financial fraud by hackers using fake websites of the branches of foreign banks in the island. Its services range from responding to and investigating information security breaches, to preventing security breaches by […]

Mar 16, 2011 (LBO) – Customers of Sri Lankan banks will be able to get cash over-the-counter quicker from April 01, following technical upgrades to speed up processes, the island’s central cheque clearing house said. LankaClear, Sri Lanka’s central clearing house, already provides next day credit for cheques with the use of electronic clearing (cheque […]

Mar 13, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank is expected to order commercial banks to limit use of bank guarantees to apply for shares in initial public offers to ensure small investors a fairer share, a report said. A minimum of 10 percent of an issue will be made available for allotment to Unit […]