Seylan Bank Public Share Issue Oversubscribed

The Seylan Bank’s Public Share Issue of 54,290,000 Ordinary (Voting) Shares to raise Rs. 1.9 bn at Rs. 35 per share was oversubscribed on Friday.

Chairman of Seylan Bank Eastman Narangoda said, “Given the crisis the Bank underwent towards the end of last year, this oversubscription is an unequivocal endorsement by the people of Sri Lanka demonstrating the confidence they have in the Bank.

This has been a great team effort. On behalf of Seylan Bank, I thank everybody who contributed to this success story and reassure them that Seylan Bank will grow from strength to strength and live up to their expectations”.

Under a separate Private Placement, the Bank of Ceylon and Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation were allocated 13 million and 19.15 million Ordinary (Voting) Shares of the Bank.

The total capital expected to be generated from both the Private Placement and Public Offering will be Rs. 3.025 billion. This issue is primarily aimed at facilitating the future expansion of the Bank.

Among the significant initiatives made by the Seylan Bank’s new Chairman Eastman Narangoda and the Board of Directors were - the introduction of proper corporate governance practices by the appointment of Board Committees for Audit, Risk Management, Nomination, HR and Remuneration, staffing key management positions with appropriately skilled professionals and commissioning and launching a three-year Strategic Plan. By implementing the Strategic Plan together with the initiatives, the Bank consolidated its position as a reliable and trustworthy player in Sri Lanka’s banking industry.

The Seylan Bank effectively reduced its expenditure by Rs. 860 mn within the past eight months compared to 2008. However, under the prevailing economic conditions Seylan Bank’s progress on the road to full recovery is quite noteworthy.