Category: Banking and Finance

Mar 01, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s listed Seylan Merchant Bank said it was changing its name to SMB Holdings and splitting each existing share in to ten new shares, the firm said in a stock exchange filing. SMB was a subsidiary of listed Seylan Bank, which is under regulatory supervision following a run. On […]

Feb 28, 2010 (LBO) – Sampath Bank said its 2009 net group profits rose 36.8 percent to 2.0 billion rupees, while December quarter net was up 72.4 percent to 689 million rupees with higher interest rate spreads and fee income. The banking group said in a stock exchange filing December quarter interest income fell 6.2 […]

Feb 26, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hatton National Bank (HNB) said group net profits for the 2009 financial year rose 58 percent to 4.5 billion rupees with gains from investments in government securities while the loan book shrank. The bank said in a stock exchange filing that group December quarter profits shot up 156 […]

Feb 25, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank said group December quarter profits rose 8.3 percent to 1,207 million rupees while full year profits were up 1.7 percent to 4,191 million rupees. Basic earnings per share for the quarter were reported at 4.84 rupees and the full year at 16.80 rupees. In the December […]

Feb 25, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Nation Trust Bank (NTB) group December quarter profits rose 5.0 percent to 181.1 million rupees from a year ago, and full year profits were up 16 percent 686.1 million rupees. For the year non-interest income was up 8.0 percent to 1.9 billion rupees, and non interest expenses were […]

Feb 25, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s HSBC unit has opened a new branch in the capital Colombo pushing the total up to 15, within weeks of starting a new branch in the northern Jaffna peninsular. The new branch in Maitland Crescent in the upmarket Cinnamon Gardens or Colombo 7 area also has a ‘premier […]

Feb 23, 2010 (LBO) – An affiliate of Sri Lanka’s Sampath Bank in Bangladesh is planning to list its stock brokering firm in the country’s booming stock market, a media report said, though there were fears of a correction. Bangladesh’s stocks have been going through a bull run prompting fears of a bubble. On Monday […]

Feb 23, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s The Finance Company said its loss for the December quarter shot up to 626 million rupees from a loss of 86 million rupees a year ago. It experienced a run on deposits when its parent, Ceylinco Group, suffered a crisis of confidence after another group firm, Golden Key […]

Feb 22, 2010 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka unit of HSBC bank said it was launching a personal banking service targeting what it called the ˜mid-market’ customer segment, focusing on convenience to attract clients. HSBC Sri Lanka chief Nick Nicolau said the bank will offer a range of products like currency deposits and unit trust […]

Feb 22, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s National Development Bank’s December 2009 quarter profits fell 10 percent to 484 million rupees from a year earlier, but full year profits were up 30 percent to 2.08 billion rupees. NDB Bank expanded its branch network to northern Jaffna and to eastern Batticaloa, Trincomalee and Ampara in the […]

Feb 19, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s registered finance companies, which were shaken last year by the collapse of an unregulated firm, may see consolidation especially among weak smaller firms, the Central Bank said. The profitability of the finance company sector declined and some companies made losses last year because of high interest rates and […]

Feb 18, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Seylan Bank group said losses narrowed to 16.5 million rupees in the December quarter from 689 million a year ago and that it ended the year with a profit. The bank said in a stock exchange filing that it made a full year net profit of 569 million […]