Sampath Bank showcases Rs. 2.5 b debenture issue as sound investment

Sampath Bank is launching a five year debenture worth of Rs. 1.5 billion with an option to increase it by a further Rs. 1 billion if the issue is oversubscribed. The issue will be opened  on Thursday 4 October.

The debentures have been rated A + (lka) by Fitch Rating (Lanka) Limited and will be listed on the main board of the Colombo Stock Exchange. This debenture issue is an attractive investment opportunity for investors and general public as it offers three interest rate options to choose from as follows; Fixed interest rate of 15.00% p.a. payable monthly (annual effective rate of 16.08% p.a.); Fixed interest rate of 16.50% p.a. payable annually; Floating interest rate of 2 % above the six months Treasury Bill rate (gross) payable bi-annually.

A total of 15,000,000 unsecured, subordinated redeemable debentures (2012/2017) of Rs. 100 denomination will be on offer with an option to issue a further 10,000,000 if the issue is over-subscribed. The minimum subscription is 100 debentures worth of Rs. 10,000 and any additional subscriptions shall be in multiples of Rs. 5,000. The redemption date would be five years from the date of allotment.

Sampath Bank, which commenced business in 1987, now has a network of 209 branches. The Bank introduced networked ATMs to Sri Lanka for the first time with the popular brand name ‘SET’ and since then numerous innovations have been introduced to Sri Lankan Financial Services as well as to the Asian Region.

Sampath Bank nests 3335 employees who have been branded as ‘Team Sampath’ which is the main thrust and driving force of the bank. “Our highly energetic staff blended with superior technology and the truly Sri Lankan image have been the main ingredients in providing  a unique banking experience to customers,” says a Sampath spokesman.

The Bank has a stated capital of Rs 3,540.8 million comprising 162,444,303 shares as at 30 June 2012.

The Bank’s pre-tax profit which rose to Rs. 4,150.6 million in the 1st H 2012, reflected an increase of Rs. 1,345.3 million or 48.0% over the pre-tax profit of Rs. 2,805.3 million for the 1st H 2011. The post –tax profit of the Bank recorded a growth of 40.4 % over the same period of last year, rising from Rs. 1,987.7 million in 2011 to Rs.2,789.8 Mn in 2012.

The growth rates in deposits and total assets during the 1st H 2012 amounted to 12.2% and 14.6 % respectively and compared well with the industry’s growth rates of 9.3% and 13.7%, during the period.

In 2012 rating assessment, considering the healthy asset quality, better compliance, transparency, capital adequacy, internal control systems and processes of the Bank, RAM Ratings Lanka has reaffirmed AA (stable) rating for Sampath Bank, in their rating assessment and the overall credit rating of the Bank’s “AA-”lka (stable) has been affirmed by Fitch Rating Lanka too.

Sampath Group was recognised as the ‘Best Banking Group in Sri Lanka for the year 2012’ at the World Finance Awards presented by World Finance Magazine.

The Bank has a number of subsidiary companies namely, SC Securities (Pvt.) Ltd., Sampath Leasing and Factoring Ltd., Sampath Information Technology Solutions Ltd. with a stake of 100% and Sampath Centre Ltd. and with a shareholding of 97.14%.

Desutshe Bank, Colombo branch will be the Trustees to this issue and SSP Corporate Services (Pvt.)Ltd. will act as the managers and registrars to the issue.

Prospectus and the applications of the Sampath Bank Debenture issue are now available with your stock broker or at any Sampath Bank branch. Further it can be downloaded from the Sampath Bank web site (www.sampath.lk). Sampath Bank invites the public to enjoy maximum benefits from this opportunity.