Sampath Bank enters Colombo Port City

From left: CPCEC Director Legal and Corporate Affairs Vindhya Weerasekera, Director Finance Ruwan Karunaratne, Chairman Dinesh Weerakkody, Sampath Bank Chairman Harsha Amarasekera PC and Managing Director Ayodhya Iddawela Perera

•  Receives Authorised Persons Licence and Certificate of Registration as an Off-shore Company

Sampath Bank PLC has announced its first step in getting qualified as an Authorised Person and to be permitted to engage in offshore banking business in and from the area of authority of the Colombo Port City by receiving the Authorised Persons (AP) Licence from Colombo Port City Economic Commission (CPCEC) and Certificate of Registration as an Off-shore Company from Registrar General of Companies. 

This is the first milestone after the receipt of Monetary Board concurrence in 2022 for the issuance of a banking licence to engage in business under the Colombo Port City Economic Commission Act, No. 11 of 2021.

The AP Licence, AP Agreement and Certificate of Registration as an Off-shore Company were ceremonially handed over by CPCEC Chairman Dinesh Weerakkody to Sampath Bank PLC Chairman Harsha Amarasekera PC in the presence of the bank’s Managing Director Ayodhya Iddawela Perera last week.

On the occasion of the handover, Amarasekera said: “Sampath Bank is geared to facilitate the financial ecosystem within the Colombo Port City by serving the investors and businesses from all economies and particularly from the regional economies. This milestone will pave the way forward in the Bank’s expansion drive for investment in strategic locations by serving international businesses and offering tailor made services backed by state-of-the-art technology, while contributing to the advancement of the national economy.”

“We have designed a range of offshore banking products and services that can elevate Bank’s local presence to global as we focus on new business opportunities being created through the Special Economic Zone at Colombo Port City. We started early by serving Investors and Authorised Persons in Colombo Port City foreign currency zone within a regulated framework and look forward for facilitation of diversification and bolster a service economy,” said the bank’s Managing Director Perera.

Sampath Bank offers a full gamut of modern banking products and services for Corporates, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Retail customers through the network of island-wide established 229 branches. 

The principal activities of the bank already includes corporate and retail lending, offshore project financing, trade financing, treasury and investment services, resident and non-resident foreign currency operations including array of digital banking services, inward-outward remittance facilities, travel related services, issuance of local and international credit and debit cards and dealing in government securities.