Sri Lanka’s banks to show reluctance to absorb their subsidiary Finance Firms – Fitch Ratings
Sri Lanka's banks would be reluctant to absorb their finance and leasing companies (FLC) due to the significant difference between their risk profiles and underwriting practices which could lead to elevated challenges in achieving effective management, According to Fitch Ratings.
The government's budget speech, presented on 17 November 2020, reiterated the importance of consolidation in the FLC sector, which has been on the cards since 2014 when the Central Bank (CB) announced its 'Master Plan for the Consolidation of the Financial Sector'. It led to several banks acquiring FLC subsidiaries in 2014 and 2015, including the acquisition of HNB Finance (then Prime Grameen Micro Finance Limited) by Hatton National Bank and Serendib Finance (then Indra Finance Limited) by Commercial Bank of ...