Category: Banking and Finance

Mar 10, 2009 (LBO) – Managers of Sri Lanka’s state-run pension fund of private sector workers, under fire for investing funds for state purposes as a ‘captive’ source, have said the fund is operating well. In an interview, officials managing the EPF denied all suggestions of impropriety, conflict of interest, or coming under pressure to […]

Mar 10, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hatton National Bank group has reported profits of 3,830 million rupees in 2008, down 10.1 percent over the previous year on interest income of 38.7 billion rupees which grew 20.7 percent. Loan loss provisions increased 27.6 percent to 1,159 million rupees, while 259 million rupees was charged for […]

March 08, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Nations Trust Bank (NTB) said group net profit rose 17 percent to 593 million rupees in 2008 from a year ago and that it managed to increase market share.Group total income in the financial year ending December 31, 2008 rose 49 percent to 13.9 billion rupees with net […]

March 06, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s largest leasing company is in talks to buy a leasing company in the island’s Ceylinco group, a listed investment bank in the group said in a stock exchange filing.Seylan Merchant Bank is in talks with People’s Leasing Company, a unit of state-run People’s Bank, to sell a controlling […]

Mar 06, 2009 (LBO) – Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka, (MBSL) a unit of state-run Bank of Ceylon, said it was in talks with the regulator to manage and rehabilitate Ceylinco Savings Bank, a member of the island’s troubled Ceylinco group. In another development Seylan Merchant Bank said it was in talks with People’s Leasing […]

Mar 06, 2009 (LBO) – Commercial Bank of Ceylon group has reported profits of 4,118.9 million rupees for the year ended December 2008, lower by 0.7 percent, with revenues growing 24.8 percent to 43.9 billion rupees. Group interest income grew 21.9 percent to 37.2 billion rupees, interest expense grew 28.44 percent to 24.3 billion and […]

Mar 06, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank said it is looking for managing agents for two registered finance companies in the troubled Ceylinco group and a management shake-up is on the cards for another. Managing agents were being sought for Asian Finance and Ceylinco Investment and Realty under central bank monitoring while the […]

Mar 05, 2009 (LBO) – An investment banking unit linked to a state bank is examining several troubled finance and real estate firms of Sri Lanka’s Ceylinco group, a media report said. The Daily Mirror newspaper said the Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka, a listed subsidiary of state-run Bank of Ceylon, is planning to re-structure […]

Mar 05, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s two biggest banks, state-owned Bank of Ceylon (BOC) and the private listed Commercial Bank, plan to expand in areas of the island’s north and east which have been cleared of Tamil Tiger rebels. Bank of Ceylon’s expansion program is part of the government’s economic revival programs for the […]

LONDON, March 3, 2009 (AFP) – Emerging markets bank Standard Chartered said Tuesday that net profit jumped a fifth to 3.41 billion dollars (2.69 billion euros) in 2008, leaving it well-placed to face the global slowdown. Despite the gain in profits after tax, Standard Chartered was not immune to rising bad debts linked to the […]

March 02, 2009(LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Seylan Bank said it made a loss of 709 million rupees in the December 2008 quarter compared with group net profit of 199 million a year ago with a sharp rise in bad loans and a slowdown in deposits.Total capital adequacy ratio at bank level has slipped to 8.32 […]

Feb 27, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank may open a liquidity facility as a last resort, in a bailout package for troubled finance and leasing companies which has a 4.2 billion rupee fiscal component, officials said.In recent times the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has used such tactics to finance agricultural sector credit and […]