Pan Asia Bank unveils great investment opportunities with 3-year FD

Friday, 9 May 2014 01:12 -     - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Takura Abhayasinghe is a career banker who has more than 20 years of banking and sales experience in both Sri Lankan and Middle East markets. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing UK and holds a Master of business Administration from Edith Cowan University, Perth. Australia. Following are excerpts of an interview about Pan Asia Bank’s fixed deposit Q: Tell us about the latest promotion for the three-year fixed deposit? A: Pan Asia Bank has come out with a long-term fixed deposit product which offers a higher rate of interest. The tenor is three years and customers get the opportunity of receiving Rs. 100,000 for every Rs. 75,000 they deposit, in three years. That is a nominal rate of 11.11% with an annual effective rate of 10.06%. There is no limitation to the amount one can invest and every investment is guaranteed the high return. Q: Why should someone invest in a Pan Asia Bank three-year fixed deposit? A: As we all know, interest rates have been declining in Sri Lanka since the latter part of 2012 alongside declining inflation and the general expectation is for this trend to continue for some times. While this trend is conducive for economic development, it creates a challenge for the segment of population that was relying on interest income from their deposits. Hence, we saw that there is a significant demand in the market for a high interest fixed deposit scheme which is why came with this offer. In short, the return offered by Pan Asia Bank fixed deposits is high when compared to similar investment opportunities in the market currently while being a very secure investment. Also when a customer opts for a longer-term fixed deposit such as this, he/she can protect his/her investment from falling interest rates during the tenure of the deposit. Q: Can a customer get a monthly interest too? A: Yes of course. At this scenario the nominal rate is 8% with an annual effective rate of 8.3% which is certainly higher than most of the similar term deposits. Q: Can a customer get a loan against these deposits? A: Not only term loans, customers can look out for any other form of advances such as overdrafts, import and export loans, personal loans credit card and so forth up to 90% of the deposit. Q: Why should someone consider Pan Asia Bank to place a fixed deposit? A: Apart from offering higher interest rates for deposits, a deposit at Pan Asia Bank is a very secure investment since Pan Asia Bank is a licensed commercial bank which is regulated by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. Our current Fitch rating is BBB (lka), which is an investment grade rating Pan Asia Bank, which is known as one of the fastest growing commercial banks in Sri Lanka, currently operates with 77 branches and 76 ATM points. We offers 365 day banking and 24 hour banking in selected locations, providing increased accessibility and convenience to our valued clients while our staff is trained to offer fast and courteous service to all our clients over the network. Q: Why should someone invest in FDs instead of any other form of investment? A: In a fixed deposit, the return is guaranteed in comparison to most of the other form of investments regardless of interest rate fluctuations. Also it is a very simple tried and tested investment method that is considered very secure which will give peace of mind to any investor. Q: Why did Pan Asia bank decided to attract long term funds? A: While this three-year fixed deposit will fulfill an important gap in the market, it also will allow us to grow aggressively on certain product categories especially in retail and SME segments by helping us to strike a balance between long term assets and long term liabilities.

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