Priyantha Fernando joins LOLC Group

Priyantha Fernando, who held office as a Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and Ex-officio Commission Member of the Securities Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka, has joined the LOLC Group as a Director of Commercial Leasing & Finance Limited (CLC).

Fernando counts more than 35 years of experience in the banking sector. He was attached to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka serving in senior and diverse capacities.  He was the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank in 2010-2011 in charge of the Financial System Stability and the Corporate Services cluster.  Fernando has extensive experience and expertise in the fields of banking and financial sector regulation, information technology, national accounting and statistics, finance and fund management. At the Central Bank he was the Chairman of the Financial Stability Committee, member of the Monetary Policy Committee, member of the Risk Management Committee, Chairman of the National Payment Council.

He was an ex-officio board member in several regulatory organisations, namely the Securities Exchange Commission and the Insurance Board of Sri Lanka and Chairman of the Credit Information Bureau and Institute of Bankers Sri Lanka and has also served as a Board Member at Employers Trust Fund, Lanka Clear Pvt. Ltd. and Lanka Financial Services Bureau.

Upon obtaining a license to function as finance company, CIC, which is a subsidiary of Lanka Orix Leasing Company PLC, made an application to the Colombo Stock Exchange for the listing of its ordinary voting shares for which approval in-principle has already been granted. Trading of the company shares on the floor of the exchange are expected occur in the near future.

CLC’s lending portfolio, consisting of lease, loan hire purchase and factoring receivables, grew by 88% over the previous year to Rs. 18.4 b. CLC was successful in maintaining a very high credit quality along with the rapid growth of the portfolio, with a gross non-performing loan (NPL) ratio of zero and a net NPL ratio of negative 19%.

In September 2010, the company raised capital by way of a Rights Issue. Rs. 1 b was raised, enabling the company to maintain its rapid growth. The company’s debt to equity ratio was at a healthy 4.2 times as at financial year end (3.7 times in 2010). The debt to equity ratio excluding the double count of loans created due to foreign currency hedges was at 4.1 times (3.3 times in 2010).

The technical financial expertise and wide experience possessed by Fernando is expected to propel the company towards another year of exponential growth while ensuring adherence to the best of corporate governance practices.



Asiriwatham resigns from LOLC Board (sub head style)

Rajan Asiriwatham, who functioned as a Director of Lanka Orix Leasing Company PLC from 2008, has informed the company of his intention to resign for the post he holds in order to avoid the occurrence of a personal conflict of interest.

He has stressed that a business transaction with regard to the acquisition of a property on a long term lease between one of the Browns Group companies and the Church of Ceylon, of which he hold a position of a Trustee has placed him in a situation of conflict of interest with the duties he required to perform towards the Church.

The above situation has reluctantly compelled him to consider resigning from the Boards of these two companies as he wishes to continue to hold office as a Trustee of the Church of Ceylon.