The Sunday Leader » Banking & Finance

Standout Among The Crowd

sanjeewa — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 18:55:45 +0000

People holding “motorGuard Xtra” placards in Colombo

HNB Assurance recently introduced the latest edition of their motor insurance policy “motorGuard Xtra” by conducting an outdoor public awareness campaign in Colombo. People were holding placards on the road with statements such as “Claims Without Cutting & Chopping”, “No Claim Bonus for your Second Vehicle,” “A Free Life Insurance Cover with your Motor Insurance” and “No Claim Bonus even after your First Claim”. “It’s much more than just a motor insurance,” said HNB Assurance Managing Director, Manjula de Silva, elaborating on the newly launched product, emphasising the difference that sets “motorGuard Xtra” apart from its competitors.
HNB Assurance Marketing and Distribution General Manager Lalith Fernando presented the extra special features that “motorGuard Xtra” offers to customers. A free life cover will be given to the policyholder and a more than a sizeable sum will be paid to the beneficiary in an unfortunate event of a policyholder’s demise due to an accident. Other standout features include a fantastic no claim bonus which will also be matched to a second vehicle insured under this policy. Hospital cash benefits will be paid. An excellent depreciation protection gives the policyholder peace of mind guaranteeing 100% disbursement on replaced parts.
Policyholders will also enjoy the benefits of bundling with other HNB insurance products such as the “myhome” policy, gaining greater discounts and more savings. In addition, there are many interesting features to enhance your protection just by naming the drivers of your vehicle which allows the policyholder to enjoy attractive discounts, on-site inspections will be done at the scene of the accident and customers can protect their “No Claim Bonus” of three years upto Thee accidents during the year.
The new launch of ‘motorGuard Xtra’ will no doubt revolutionise the car insurance industry. And HNB Assurance has yet again raised the benchmark, making HNB Assurance customers the ultimate winner! “motorGuard Xtra” is a premier car insurance policy which is dynamically designed to give customers a wider range of benefits whiles covering every possible risk that motorists face today, a successful teaser campaign was done starting from Thibirigasyaya, Borella, Dehiwala and Peliyagoda main junctions to grab the public’s attention by enticing them to know what additional benefits “motorGuard Xtra” has in store for their customers. The public had the chance of winning an Android mobile phone by sending an sms message to HNB Assurance. There was a branded double decker bus which travelled round the city with new motorGuard Xtra product brandings. “Papare” music along with the promotional team carried out placards to get the public’s attention.
The SMS competition’s lucky winner was selected from a raffle draw and Managing Director de Silva handed over the gift at the time of the launch. HNB Assurance PLC is one of Sri Lanka’s fastest growing Insurance companies with a 50 branch network. HNB Assurance has also been awarded “A (lka)”as its insurer financial strength rating and national long term rating by Fitch Ratings Lanka Ltd.

Enhancing Knowledge

sanjeewa — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 18:54:31 +0000

Nations Trust Bank PLC CEO/director Ms.Renuka Fernando (2nd from right) with the winning Central Finance team

The cream of Sri Lanka’s corporate sector was captivated by the digital ambiance and glamour when the Nations Trust Bank plc (NTB) Corporate Quiz took place at the Cinnamon Grand recently.
Forty teams drawn from Sri Lanka’s corporate elite battled it out to gain supremacy with the event’s theme set on the movie Tron.
Based on the battle theme, the event was complete with décor, lights and digital ambiance.
The competition included question split into five rounds and covered the areas of General Knowledge / Current Affairs, Entertainment, Financial Markets and on NTB. After the hectic five rounds, Central Finance emerged as overall champions and walked away with the Rs 250,000 grand prize.
As runners up, Aitken Spence won Rs 100,000.
The event was an overwhelming success and constituted an audio visual treat, dance and entertainment acts with the participants having an enjoyable evening with a number of prizes and surprises in between rounds that complemented the main prizes, followed by cocktails and fellowship.
The quiz features high in the Bank’s corporate calendar.
The opportunity to bring likeminded individuals from various industries to promote goodwill and respect whist fostering positive networking and connections is an important goal in the NTB family.

ERP IS “Business”

sanjeewa — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 18:53:19 +0000

Dan Matthews

A recent global study carried out by IDC on behalf of IFS reveals how businesses can get sustainable ROI from ERP implementations.
The survey, based on interviews with IFS customers globally lists business transparency as the most important factor, followed by efficient infrastructure, enhanced data access and improved customer relations.The study is based on interviews with executives at seven companies that have implemented IFS applications in the USA, UK, Australia, Poland, Spain, Norway and the Netherlands.
According to IDC, thousands of organizations are running legacy systems, which might support day-to-day business, yet fail to deliver business transparency, accommodate process changes and support automation initiatives. These legacy systems make it difficult to gain greater business insight and to expand the business internationally. Among the companies that have implemented IFS applications IDC identified the following effects: Business transparency, Common infrastructure, Business data access and Customer relations.
IDC Nordic Research Manager Anders Munk Ebbesen said, “It is interesting to see the benefits of implementing a fully-integrated solution outweigh the perceived difficulties, especially since thousands of organizations are clinging to old legacy systems.”
IFS CTO Dan Matthews said, “This study proves that implementation of an integrated ERP system should be viewed primarily as a business project rather than as an IT project,” “Potential ROIs are substantial enough to warrant a business-oriented approach. In an increasingly globalized business world, it is an immense competitive advantage to be able to overview and access all processes and transactions in one single system.”

Preventable Fatality

sanjeewa — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 18:52:03 +0000

A special health screening package which includes a breast cancer risk assessment and discounts on mammograms will be available at the Ceylinco Healthcare Centre (CHC) next month.
A promotion launched by the Centre to build awareness on the importance of breast cancer’s early detection.
The package also includes a physical examination by a medical officer, and tests such as Body Mass Index (BMI), Vision, Blood Pressure, Fasting Blood Sugar, Lipid Profile, Full Blood Count and Urine Full Report.
“Breast cancer is more curable than other cancers if detected early,” said CHC Senior Medical Officer Dr. (Ms.) Shyama Fernando. “
But statistics reveal that breast cancer results in many deaths in Sri Lanka because most often those cancers are detected at a later stage and are treated only during the advanced stages.”
Established in collaboration with Washington Hospital Centre, CHC is a Ceylinco Life (the country’s leading life insurer) subsidiary.

Financial Crisis, No End In Sight?

sanjeewa — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 18:51:17 +0000

The financial crisis now five years long continues to surprise most of us through its wide reach and mounting human cost.
This was said by International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) Financial Counsellor and Monetary and Capital Markets Department Director José Viñals at the Eurofi Financial Forum which was held at Brussels on Thursday.
Following are further edited excerpts of his speech: “While demand is key for today, supply is essential for tomorrow.
Broad reforms in labour and product markets will provide investment opportunities for the money that is currently idling on the sidelines.
This is politically tough, but according to IMF’s internal studies, in-depth product, labour market and pension reform could lift growth in the euro area by 4.5% over five years.
Examining regulation effects, the IMF finds that reasonably higher capital and liquidity buffers in the banking system not only contribute to lower financial stress, but also and contrary to what some believe-to higher and more stable growth.
This is particularly the case for economies where these buffers are made up of high quality capital and more liquid assets.
We need to understand the implications of globalized financial systems.
The crisis has been a global one and the solutions are also global. The response to contagion is therefore, not fragmentation but better institutional integration and cooperation.
We need to move back to risk-sharing so that we end up with good globalization.
This point is nowhere more evident than in the euro area.
As the sovereign debt crisis has accelerated, there has been a trend towards financial home-bias and fragmentation along national lines. But, inside a monetary union, this is an untenable situation.
That is why I welcome the intention to establish a banking union.
The Fund has long advocated the need for a strong and effective union. It needs to be put in place as soon as
possible and done right so that it reverses fragmentation, ends financial repression and reopens the door for efficient cross-border allocation of resources within the common currency area.
‘Austerity or growth’ and ‘stability or growth’ are not the real choices in front of us.
The real choice is between making tough political decisions that address once and for all the crisis’ roots and postponing-once more-taking the necessary measures with the false hope that time is on our side. What we need to choose is a combination of smart demand management, structural change, and regulatory reform that fosters confidence and restores stability and growth simultaneously.
We need to reboot the financial system and put it on a safer path so that it can channel resources in support of stronger and more stable growth. Leadership is often defined as turning intention into reality, let’s hope that it will be decisively exercised.
This time it must be different.
Far too many people have lost their jobs and there is a new generation that has not even had the chance to get a job.
And too many people even with jobs are struggling to make ends meet.
Overall unemployment in the euro area has continued to rise, now standing at 11.3 % on average. In Greece and Spain, one out of four is unemployed.
This is devastating and must not be allowed to go on any longer.
So where do we turn? How do we overcome the crisis?
This has been the subject of much spirited debate.
Is austerity hurting growth, and if so by how much? Are structural reforms effective when demand is so weak?
Is regulation making the financial system safer but at the price of damaging growth?
Much of this debate has, regrettably, been about false dichotomies.
The reality is that the European economy is struggling to get out of two interlocking vicious cycles: an economic one and a political one.
The vicious economic cycle is driven by three mutually dependent forces: weak sovereigns, weak banks and poor economic growth.
When banks ran into trouble growth weakened and the sovereign stepped in. Conversely, when the sovereign ran into trouble, banks suffered, again with adverse consequences for growth. Weak growth in turn reduced the strength of both sovereigns and banks, giving rise to a vicious cycle.
The impact of these adverse spirals on public debt was quite large.
The most striking example is Ireland, where before the crisis public debt was 25% of GDP; in early 2012, it was almost 110%. Along the way, Ireland lost market access.
The fiscal adjustment that is now needed to correct the sovereign balance sheet in several euro area countries is therefore not about austerity versus growth but about restoring the sovereign’s safety, which in turn will strengthen the banking system and allow both to support growth.
In the euro area, an overarching political cycle has caused difficulties in managing the economic crisis. In a currency union, it is obvious that in addition to national discipline, conditional mutual support among members is necessary to maintain its viability.
But over the past couple of years we have seen a cycle played out a number of times: Escalating market tensions followed by euro-area level policy reactions and market relief, in turn followed by either complacency setting in among policymakers or political fragmentation arising along national lines, with even larger market tensions reappearing as a result.
These vicious political and economic cycles need to be broken and cooperation needs to be strengthened. As the Roman politician Cicero once said: “We may have come in different ships, but we are all in the same boat now.” This boat is being built. It needs to be ready to set sail very soon.
Confidence has recently improved with the announcements of new ECB policies and the prospect of a banking union. This is encouraging. But fragilities remain and it is too soon to declare victory on the euro area crisis.
Rather, the space provided by the ECB now needs to be fully used by political leaders to effectively tackle the crisis’ roots once and for all, at both the national and European levels so as to secure a bright future for the euro area.
What Europe needs is stabilization, integration, and growth. Stabilization will return sovereigns and banks to safety; integration will strengthen the currency union and anchor crisis management and growth will put people back into jobs.
To make progress toward sustained growth amidst all these constraints we will need to be “smart,” and we will need to work on several fronts to be smart together:
Countries have a legacy of high public debt partly due to the crisis and in a number of countries that we all know well, sovereign debt has lost its traditional risk-free character. Consequently fiscal stimulus is clearly not an option and fiscal consolidation is essential.
But fiscal consolidation is a marathon and not a sprint. The right pace is essential. Neither too fast-to avoid hurting growth-nor too slow-to avoid disappointing markets.
If growth is worse than expected, the focus should be on fiscal measures rather than fiscal targets to avoid being unduly procyclical.
Europe has repeatedly disappointed in the past by setting ambitious targets expanding structural reform and failing to deliver. The stakes are now too high to fail again, particularly in Southern Europe where competitiveness problems are most important.
Financial sector reforms first need to clean up excesses wherever they still exist and gradually and consistently build buffers with higher quality capital and truly liquid assets. And we need to restart securitization but on safer grounds than before the crisis.
We must think of what financial system we need and want. A system that is lean and fit, fair and accessible; a system that oils the engine of growth rather than disrupting it.
Let me turn now towards the global financial system and how it can help growth.
The financial sector has been in the eye of the storm. It has often been blamed for having caused and amplified the crisis, though as we know other factors have played a role too.
Recent scandals such as LIBOR do not help to restore trust in the sector.
Many people wonder whether the considerable reform efforts that are being undertaken will be pursued to their successful conclusion. They also wonder when the financial system again will forcefully help finance sustainable growth.
There are many underlying causes of the crisis. One critical issue was a regulatory system that did not keep up with financial innovation, combined with insufficient enforcement by supervisors of the regulations that were on the books. Policymakers have taken various lessons to heart and have put in place a vision and a new financial regulatory framework to help mitigate these financial stability risks. Has the quest for a safer, more stable financial system come to an end? My answer would need to be “probably not”-at least not yet. Banks are looking healthier today compared with a few years ago, but, as the IMF has said recently, based on its most recent analysis, considerable more work is needed to move to a safer global financial system. On the regulatory front, we have positive developments: there is agreement on new capital frameworks. Some institutions have already moved toward the new requirements. But we need rigorous and internationally consistent implementation of the new regulatory framework. We also need to better understand the shadow banking system, ensure counterparty risk reduction in derivatives markets and adopt effective national and cross border resolution regimes.
On the supervisory front, enforcement needs to be strengthened. The initiative to set up a euro area banking union is designed to remedy a number of weaknesses in this area. Incentives need to be better aligned. Management of financial institutions plays a key role in allocating the regulatory cost to different stakeholders. As financial institutions become safer in the wake of new financial regulations, shareholders and bondholders will likely accept lower returns on their investments. Management may align staff compensation with the new lower risk profile. At a broader level, shifting the burden from taxpayers to other stakeholders seems appropriate.
So, while a safer global financial system is being established, what needs to be done to ensure that the financial system contributes to Europe’s growth? First, repair. Policymakers need to focus on the problem areas and do so as fast as possible. They need to speedily complete the cleaning-up of banks and prevent the emergence of so called Zombie banks which are detrimental for growth. Moreover, those banks that are too dependent on wholesale funding are particularly vulnerable to a change in the sentiment among their liability holders; even banks with ample deposits are not completely safe.
Second, banks need to continue to build up capital and liquidity buffers steadily and consistently, in line with the new Basel III requirements.”

New Directors

sanjeewa — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 18:50:09 +0000

J.A. Setukavalar and Ms. Marina Tharmaratnam

Singer Finance recently appointed two respected business personalities to its director board. They are Ms. Marina Tharmaratnam and J.A. Setukavalar as independent directors.Tharmaratnam has served as Union Assurance PLC’s director/ CEO amongst other managerial and director positions in various other companies.
She is an Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka, Institute of Management Accountants of Sri Lanka and Chartered Institute of Marketing Fellow. Setukavalar is a Baur & Company director and Company Secretary. He is also an Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (UK and Sri Lanka) Fellow. Other Singer Finance Board members include: H.D.S. Amarusuriya (Chairman of Singer Sri Lanka and Singer Finance), Dr. S. Kelegama, Gavin J. Walker, John Hyun, Asoka Pieris, M.P.A. Salgado and Shantha Wijeweera ( CEO Singer Finance).The company is backed by the strength of the Singer Group.

Many Dimensions Of Design

sanjeewa — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 18:36:18 +0000

Ruwean Gunaratna and Dressing Up Bellagio For “20-20” World Cup Cricket

At a time when innovation and creativity are the highest value additions sought after by businesses, “Design” has become one of the most versatile professional avenues offering hundreds of rewarding careers.
Sri Lanka’s growing design industries are also currently making room for these new and challenging careers that are fast proving to be important.
Designing temporary structures for exhibitions, corporate events and entertainment is a popular career in the vast sector of interior design. Known as exhibition design/set design and scenic design, this career is one of the most challenging and lucrative professions in today’s world. A young interior design graduate from Sri Lanka’s international design campus -AOD, Ruwean Gunaratna is already one of Colombo’s preferred designers for set and exhibition design.
Gunaratna was involved with his father’s stage construction company from a young age. “Since my childhood, I wanted to be like my father who owns the stage construction company Kaseyapa Theatre & Film Lights. I wanted to take his business a step further by involving “design.” Although I was creative and could do my own designs, I felt that I had much to learn if we’re to reach international level standards.”
Gunaratna joined AOD’s interior design degree programme which gives a complete and direct degree from Northumbria University, UK’s design school of UK -one of the top rated in Europe. He says that he’s grateful to his teachers at AOD, interior and architectural experts from Sri Lanka and abroad; “The three years at AOD campus was my turning point, and after graduating I worked on several big projects like Miss Sri Lanka pageant, Oriflame launch, Commercial Bank Awards Night and Bellagio-T20 World Cup promotion and I feel my design work has given our business a competitive edge.” Gunaratna’s work also recently won the “Best stall of the year” award for SMS holdings at “construction exhibition 2012.”
He graduated with a BA (Honours) in interior design from Northumbria Design School through AOD this year. With his new design skills to match global standards, Gunaratna has plans to expand his family business. “I think there’s a great need for tasteful conceptualisation of weddings-I’ve already started on this, and I think it will become a new trend!,” he says.
Contact AOD either on e.mail or phone or on facebook.

Inflation: 9.1%

sanjeewa — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 18:35:32 +0000

Inflation, as measured by the point to point change in state controlled Census and Statistics Department monitored Colombo Consumers’ Price Index increased to 9.1% year on year (YoY) this month.
Its annual average change during this period increased by 0.2 percentage points month on month (MoM) to 6.5%.
Meanwhile, the CCPI’s YoY change this month on a MoM basis declined by 0.4 percentage points to 9.1%.

Jobs, Key Priority

sanjeewa — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 18:34:18 +0000

Governments need to move jobs to centre stage to promote prosperity and fight poverty, a World Bank (WB) press release quoting WB Group President Jim Yong Kim said. In developing countries, jobs are a cornerstone of development, with a pay off far beyond income alone, the release added. They are critical for reducing poverty, making cities work and providing youth with alternatives to violence.
The World Development Report 2013 stresses the role of strong private sector led growth in creating jobs and outlines how jobs that do the most for development can spur a virtuous cycle. It finds that poverty falls as people work their way out of hardship and as jobs empower women to invest more on their children. Efficiency increases as workers get better at what they do as more productive jobs appear and as less productive ones disappear.

Sampath Bank Provides Savings Solutions For The Whole Family

sanjeewa — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 18:45:54 +0000

Felicitating children who excelled in the Grade V scholarship Exam ோல் Rohana Dissanayake presenting a gift to a young saver

Having launched its banking services almost 25 years ago, Sampath Bank PLC (CSE: SAMP) will celebrate 25 years of excellence in the local banking and finance industry next year. Marking the silver jubilee, the 200th branch will be opened in Kiribathgoda within the next few days. The new branch will be a supper branch that extends extended banking services on 365 days.
Sampath Bank, which commenced operations in 1987, is the third largest private sector commercial bank in Sri Lanka, among the 22 Licensed Commercial Banks operating in the island. With a network of over 199 branches spread across every province in the island, Platinum Centers for premier customers, 245 Sampath Bank ATMs and over 1,000 ATMs within the inter-linked ATM network, it is the most accessible financial institution for Sri Lankans.
Chief Manager Deposits and Remittances, Rohana Dissanayake told The Sunday Leader that Sampath Bank covers all imaginable banking products that none of the other financial institutions offer covering all segments in the society. “Our personal banking products falls into key categories – current accounts, savings accounts, term deposits, credit and debit cards, money transfer facilities, foreign currency accounts, loans and overdrafts, pawning facilities, leasing facilities, Internet banking, priority banking, and telephone banking,” he explained.
The Sampath current account is an express current account with an ultra speed cheque clearing system that supports the customer to keep up with today’s pace of life. The Sampath current account offers unmatched benefits. “Sampath Supreme is an elite current account brand dedicated to our most respected customers who have been maintaining accounts with us for more than three years with an unblemished record. We have also rewarded customer integrity with a remarkable new venture by launching the Payment Guaranteed Cheque Book for the first time in the history of banking in Sri Lanka. This exclusive offer is for an elite clientele, selected for their unwavering integrity in their partnership with us.” he said.
“There are different types of savings accounts offered by Sampath Bank; Pubudu, Sapiri, X-Set, Hit Saver, Sampath Double S and Sampath Sanhinda cover all segments of society. Pubudu and Sapiri are savings accounts for children where exciting gifts and super interests are offered. A tour to Singapore for the Top 5 Depositors in a single year, accompanied by a parent, fabulous cash awards up to Rs.40,000/- for all those who obtain top marks at the year 5 scholarship exams at national and district levels are also offered. In addition, when you maintain Rs.100,000/- or more in Sampath Pubudu or Sapiri Children’s Savings Accounts, you get free an annual Healthcare Insurance cover of Rs.100,000/- for hospitalisation expenses in any emergency. Free annual Personal Accident Insurance of Rs.100,000/- for you and your parent, when you need it most. That is not all – you can look forward to lots of fun-filled activities throughout the year,” said Dissanayake.
“X- Set is a comprehensive savings package designed for the younger generations. We issue only the X-SET card and quarterly statements and no passbook for customer convenience. Sampath Double S is “The” savings account in the savings category, which offers up to 50 percent bonus on interest monthly, together with an array of other benefits. “Sampath Double S is a very popular account among savers as they can earn up to 50 percent bonus interest monthly in addition to the normal interest. They are also entitled to a Sampath Visa ATM/DEBIT card to access their accounts through our extensive ATM network islandwide. The Hit Saver is another investment savings account offered by the bank where the account holders get a higher interest. The ATM card is given free of charge,” Dissanayake added.
The ‘Sanhinda Saver’ is the account for senior citizens which offers interest twice a month exclusively for senior citizens. In addition to the interest Sanhinda Saver customers are entitled to obtain free medical facilities annually based on their annual average balance. We also give them the opportunity to win chances for foreign and local tours. Special discounts are also offered to the bank’s senior account holders at Vision Care, DSI and John Keells Hotels. This has been done to further contribute towards the wellbeing of senior citizens thus ensuring that they are well taken care of in every aspect,” he explained.
“Our Sampath Visa ATM /Debit card provides the utmost convenience to our account holders. We issue this card at the time of opening the account as an activated card which can be used immediately. Apart from our SET ATM network this card can be used in more than 1400 ATM’s in the country. In addition to using the card to withdraw money from ATMs there are so many other facilities such as utility bill payments, fund transfers, balance inquiries, etc. that can be done at their convenience. Our customers can also use the Sampath Visa ATM card to pay bills at merchant outlets when they are shopping,” Dissanayake said.