Corporate

Union Assurance reports steady progress

Union Assurance reported steady progress in terms of turnover and profitability for the six months ended June 2009.

General and life insurance premiums for the first half of the year increased by 3% from Rs. 2.9 billion in 2008 to Rs. 3.0 billion as at June 2009.

This was mainly due to the increase in life insurance premiums which grew 11% from Rs. 1.1 billion as at June 2008 to Rs. 1.3 billion as at June 2009. General insurance premiums reported a marginal decline from Rs. 1.7 billion to Rs. 1.6 billion during the same period.

Consolidated profit before tax recorded an impressive growth rate of 25%, rising from Rs. 91 million in the 1st half of 2008 to Rs. 114 million for the comparative 2009 period.

Consolidated profit after tax of Rs. 92 million was in line with previous period figures, mainly due to a substantial increase in tax expenses.

Union Assurance further strengthened the Union Pay Easy scheme by partnering with National Savings Bank (NSB), enabling life insurance customers to pay their premiums at 125 NSB locations spread throughout the island.

Union Pay Easy is the fastest and most convenient mode of paying life insurance premiums.

With the latest addition, UA customers can pay their life insurance premiums at over 1,100 locations including any branch of Bank of Ceylon, People's Bank, Sampath Bank, Commercial Bank, DFCC Vardana Bank, Nations Trust Bank and Keells Super locations.

Seylan Bank records profit of Rs. 188m

After several set backs faced in December 2008 caused by the failures in the Ceylinco Group, Seylan Bank now seems to be firmly on the road to recovery. The Bank is now headed by a completely new Board of Directors appointed by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. The New Board appointed on 29/12/08 comprises M/s Eastman Narangoda (Chairman), R. Nadarajah (Executive Director), Nihal Jayamanne PC, Lalith Vithana, Naomal Goonewardena and Retd. Rear Admiral B.A.J.G. Peiris, all eminent professionals with extensive experience in the fields of banking, finance, law and other related fields.

Eastman Narangoda

Narangoda said that Seylan Bank is not controlled by the Ceylinco Group anymore and that the new Board has lost no time in reorganising the management of the Bank.

Systems have now been implemented to recover doubtful advances which impact the Bank's performance and credit procedures have been streamlined and strengthened to ensure good credit evaluation.

Among the significant initiatives of the new Board are: Introduction of proper corporate governance by the appointment of Board Committees for Audit, Credit, HR & Remuneration etc., Staffing key management positions with appropriately skilled professionals and commissioning and launching a three year Strategic Plan.

By implementing the strategic plan the Bank intends to consolidate its position.

Nadarajah, said that the efforts of the new management spearheaded by Chairman Eastman Narangoda had regained the confidence of depositors which was shaken due to the bank's previous connections with the Ceylinco group.

A recently launched deposit campaign is exceeding all projected expectations; and the Liquidity and Capital adequacy ratios, which fell below accepted levels during the crisis period, have already been restored.

The Board has also arranged a major capital infusion as announced by the Central bank recently.

The additional capital will greatly enhance the strength and performance capacity of the Bank.

Narangoda said that initial steps have already been taken, and that the Bank will soon be opening new branches in the North and East and expanding the branch network. GM/CEO Mr. Ajita Pasqual added that the Bank has tied up with several international agencies such as MoneyGram, Banque escompte etc. to facilitate foreign remittances.

The interim results released by the bank for the 6 months ended 30 June 2009 show an after tax profit of Rs. 188 Mn. for the Seylan Group - 138 Mn. of the profit coming from the Bank. With an EPS of Rs. 4.5, the results show a remarkable improvement over the first quarter of the year.

The reduction of expenses by over 20 %, from Rs 4 Bn. for the comparative period in 2008, indicates that the bank has effectively tightened its grip on expenditure.

Kanchana Ratwatte Chairman, NEDA

Kanchana Ratwatte has been appointed Chairman Director General of the National Enterprise Development Authority (NEDA) by Anura Priyadarshana Yapa Minister of Mass Media and Information and Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion.

He is an Attorney-at-Law and has an LL.B degree from the University of Colombo. He had his primary and secondary education at Trinity College, Kandy. Ratwatte has gained experience in both public and private sector organisations.

During his stint as Director General of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka he played a leading role in stabilizing the industry. 3G, 3.5 G and Wi-max technologies were introduced into the Sri Lankan telecommunications sphere during this period. This was a first in the South Asian region.

A fifth mobile operators licence was also issued during this period.