To improve quality of life:
BoC reduces interest rates
The premier State bank in Sri Lanka Bank of Ceylon(BOC) has reduced
interest rates in keeping with the recent directives issued by the
Government. Under this scheme public servants and Service personnel can
obtain housing loans at four percent interest rate for upto Rs 500,000
and eight per cent for upto one million and 11 per cent for loans upto 3
million. All others can get housing loans at an interest rate of 12 per
cent, said Chairman BOC Dr. Gamini Wickremasinghe. He said that this
initiative is expected to create an economic stimulus at village level
be it in construction, employment generation. When the village economy
gets a stimulus the quality of life of the people will improve.
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Dr. Gamini
Wickremasinghe |
In addition the bank has also reduced interest rates for loans given
to exporters and importers. The present rate applicable is 12 per cent
for exporters and 14% for importers.
The bank also gives loans for agriculture, fisheries, animal
husbandry and SMEs at an interest rate of 12 per cent.
Dr. Wickremesinghe said that service personnel can apply for loans
through the relevant regiment while the public servants can apply
through the department heads.
In the event if all the necessary documents are in place we will
release the money within one week of submitting the application.
He said people who are in the Services as a tribute to the service
rendered by them to save the motherland from the LTTE will get an
efficient and priority service at all branches of the BOC. This was a
request made by Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.
In addition the bank gives loans to support the dairy farming in the
country. Under this scheme the bank gives loans upto Rs. 400,000 in
three stages for the purchase of cows and to build shed as well as for
construction of the bio gas plant.
We provide loans but we need a small security, said Dr Wickremasinghe.
BOC has had a strong presence in the North East even during the conflict
with 26 delivery points in the Northen Province and 214 in the Eastern
province. Today this is increasing and the bank spreads its outreach to
far-off locations such as the island of Delft, south west of Jaffna,
Vakarai, a fishing village north of Batticaloa, Silavathurai, Mannar and
Nanattan.
Dr. Wickremasinghe said that Rs. 2.5 bn each for the North and East
has been allocated for micro finance activities where the interest rate
is 8 per cent.
BOC has a speedy delivery system and when banking facilities were
needed overnight at Wanni IDP camps, the bank established six mini banks
in converted containers within IDP settlements. Even during the conflict
BOC kept three branches in the un-cleared areas of Wanni.
With normality restored in the North and East, BOC has put in place
an accelerated and focused program for the development of the two
provinces in line with the rest of the country.
This program is a multi-pronged one focusing on poverty alleviation,
micro finance, value chain management, nucleus farm models, market
linkages and the service sector.
Our credit facilities are attractive and the reputation of the bank
is good therefore private sector too is attracted to the bank with the
recent scandals in the private sector financial institutions, said Dr.
Wickremasinghe.
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