The US Federal Reserve has cut its interest rate by 50 basis points, bringing the target overnight rate to 4.75%-5.00%. Fed Chair Jerome Powell stated that inflation and employment are now more balanced. “Inflation is much closer to our target, and we are increasingly confident that it is moving sustainably toward 2 percent,” Powell said
Ceylinco Life has announced its pioneering investment of Rs. 2 billion as the anchor investor in Sri Lanka’s first-ever Green Bond, issued by DFCC Bank. This landmark initiative, opening for subscription today, aims to raise up to Rs. 2.5 billion to fund solar photovoltaic (PV) power generation projects, including ground-mounted, floating, and rooftop solar facilities
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the establishment of a Financial Stability Fund aimed at strengthening Sri Lanka’s bank resolution framework as part of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka’s (CBSL) financial crisis management program. The initiative will begin with an initial allocation of Rs. 1 billion from the Ministry of Finance, Economic Stabilisation, and
DFCC Bank PLC in Sri Lanka is set to launch a senior, rated, 3-year green bond issue to raise Rs 2 billion, with a potential Greenshoe option to increase the amount to Rs 2.5 billion. The subscription list for the green bond issue opens on Thursday, the 12th. The bank will initially issue 20 million
First Capital (FC) anticipates that bank lending rates will remain within the 9-11% range for the rest of 2024 and rise slightly to 10-12% by mid-2025. This projection comes amidst slow economic conditions, weak demand for credit, and a lag in the reduction of new loan rates. The Average Weighted Prime Lending Rate (AWPLR) dropped
In a special session held on Tuesday, Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), provided a comprehensive briefing to Members of Parliament on the measures taken to stabilise the country’s economy. This session, chaired by Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, was conducted in accordance with Section 80 (2) (a) of the
Multi Finance PLC has been officially delisted from the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) as of September 4, 2024, following its merger with L B Finance PLC. The delisting process was conducted in accordance with Rule 4 (2) of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) Rules, 2001, as outlined in Gazette Extraordinary No.
Sri Lanka’s National Development Bank Plc (NDB) has announced plans to raise up to 10 billion rupees through a debenture issue. The bank will offer Basel III-compliant, Tier 2 listed, rated, unsecured, subordinated, redeemable debentures with a non-viability conversion at 100 rupees each. Initially, 50 million of these 5-year debentures will be issued, with the
The Sri Lankan rupee has been recognised as the best performing emerging market currency as of August 2024, showing an impressive spot return of 8.21%, according to Bloomberg market data. The rupee has held this title for five consecutive months, starting from March, making it the strongest emerging market currency so far this year. In
HSBC Sri Lanka has been named Best Consumer Digital Bank in the country for the fourth consecutive year by Global Finance in the 2024 World’s Best Consumer Digital Bank Awards in the Asia-Pacific region. This prestigious recognition follows HSBC’s recent accolade as Sri Lanka’s Best International Bank for 2024 by Euromoney. In addition to winning