People’s Bank report to be presented in Parliament

By Uditha Jayasinghe

Cabinet yesterday gave approval for the annual report and accounts of People’s Bank and its subsidiaries to be presented in Parliament and was upbeat on the State institution’s high performance.

Having completed its 50th anniversary at the beginning of last month, the performance of the People’s Bank has been reported as impressive, with the profit before tax during 2010 increasing by 44.5%, compared to the previous year.

The Cabinet paper also detailed that deposits have shown sharp growth, while the non-performance loan ratio has decreased from 6.7% in 2009 to 5% in 2010. Cabinet also commended the bank on its performance for 2010 by achieving its highest-ever after tax profit in its 49-year history.

Cabinet granted approval to present the annual report and accounts of the bank for 2010 in Parliament. Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella applauded the steps taken by the previous Government in deciding to keep People’s Bank as a State institution even though it was tottering under massive debt.

“Under the previous President, experts were brought in to study the bank and they all charged a hefty fee and recommended that the bank be privatised. But President Mahinda Rajapaksa intervened and the bank was saved.

Now we can see how the bank has turned around and managed to record profits. This is a positive indication of how State entities can function efficiently,” he said.