Commercial Bank goes for Rs. 10.1 b Rights Issue

Sri Lanka’s largest and most profitable in the private sector, Commercial Bank, is going for Rs. 10.1 billion Rights Issue boost its Tier 1 Capital to facilitate future business growth.

Commercial Bank Board of Directors at its meeting yesterday resolved on the latest capital raising exercise subject to approval from shareholders and regulators.

It has been proposed to issue 84.515 million voting shares at Rs. 113.60 each on the basis of one new voting share for every 10 held.  Non voting Rights will also be on the basis of one for every 10 held at Rs. 90.80 per share.

Yesterday the voting share closed at Rs. 142 and the non-voting at Rs. 113.20.

The number of shares is calculated after adjusting for the shares to be issued as scrip dividend amounting to Rs. 2 per share which is to be approved b shareholders at 30 March AGM. The Rights Issue will be taken up on 30 March as well. 

The state capital of Commercial Bank is Rs. 25.1 billion. If Employee Share Option Plan (EOP) options are exercised by employees the number of ordinary voting shares will be increased accordingly. 

The Commercial Bank last week announced the achievement of several milestones in service delivery in 2016 through operational developments that complemented its stellar financial performance.

Commercial Bank ended 2016 with the momentous feat of becoming the first private bank in the country to surpass one trillion rupees in assets and had the largest deposits (Rs. 739.5 billion) and advances (Rs. 633.3 billion) portfolio in the private sector. The bank’s profit after tax of Rs. 14.5 billion makes it the most profitable private bank in Sri Lanka.