Banking

NTB, FMO, ALM programme simulates volatile markets

Nations Trust Bank PLC and the Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) have come together to organise a three-day Asset and Liability Management workshop that commenced on October 29, at the Cinnamon Grand, Colombo.

Aimed at a target audience consisting key decision makers that include Heads of Treasury and Heads of Finance of leading Corporates, Commercial Banks and senior staff of Central Bank, the programme is being conducted at a very opportune moment when a global financial crisis has unfolded with great uncertainty of immediate future direction.

Based on the format of a similar style of competition conducted at the Hague in the Netherlands earlier this year, at which the Nations Trust team emerged overall winners, the workshop deals with aspects relating to business strategy that flows through to balance sheet management which combines market risk management, to include interest rate risk, liquidity risk and foreign exchange risk.

Participants are grouped into different teams that will each manage their respective ‘virtual bank’ and take on their competitors in a simulated economy where making the smart decisions will be rewarded and bad decisions punished, very much as in real life.

The performance of each team is finally reflected in the ‘share price’ that will be tracked through a number of decisions with each one representing a financial quarter.

The event is also a competition where the final objective is to determine the most successful team who will be awarded a bumper prize at the end of the programme.

Commenting on the event Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Nations Trust Bank PLC Iftikar Ahamed, said, “Participants will have an excellent opportunity to sharpen their skills on asset and liability management and understand the impact of risk-reward decisions.

The unique combination of the group brings different perspectives of immense value whether corporate customer, banker or regulator and is also an excellent networking opportunity.”

People’s Bank launches palm top banking

Hiran H. Senewiratne

People’s Bank (PB) in a bid to facilitate its customers and the local SME sector will introduce palm top banking for the first time in their history.

This new facility would be to introduce mobile banking and e-cash banking services. This would benefit more than 10 million customers equivalent to half of the country’s population, its Head of Marketing and Public Affairs Deepal Abeysekera told the Daily News Business.

He said that once they introduce this facility it would available for to the entire population in the country. This would also benefit specially for their busy customers and the SME sector in the country, he said.

“Today, People’s Bank is at the pinnacle of the banking industry. It is a Sri Lankan bank with the highest brand value in the industry and have won the hearts of the countrymen and women not only as their best loved bank, but also as the best loved entity in the entire services industry,” Abeysekera said.

This is a proof of our dedication to the customer preferences and our knowledge in customer relationships. Our efforts in making the People’s Bank brand personally relevant to customers has penetrated to their lives, he said.

The People’s Bank was set up by the State and is now the key financial institution in the country. Although State owned, the majority of its liabilities are deposits from customers. Deposit mobilisation is achieved through special campaigns: Ithurum Vasana for the general public, Vanitha Vasana for women and Sisu Udana for schoolchildren, Ethera Isura-Non Resident Foreign Currency for Sri Lankans employed overseas, etc.

Additional services of this bank are: Pawning service and special loan schemes; apex bank for cooperative rural banks; technical help for cooperative societies; development finance (financial support to households and small enterprises); international trade financing; treasury.