Seylan Bank increases VRS number

Ravi LADDUWAHETTY

Seylan Bank will expand its Voluntary Retirement Scheme upto 300 employees.

Eastman Narangoda

The bank decided to offer this VRS to employees of all categories to reduce 250 bank's employees.

"We were originally thinking of having the VRS for 250 employees. but we are going to expand it to 300 and this will cost Rs 700 million," Seylan Bank Chairman Eastman Narangoda told Daily News Business. Seylan Bank announced a Rs 4.7 billion Rights Issue recently where the funds will be used for branch expansion, development of the bank's Information Technology platform, centralizing operations and a Voluntary Retirement Scheme for employees.

The company will also hold an Extraordinary General Meeting for shareholders on May 9 to seek shareholder approval for this rights issue. One of the principal planks where the funds will be used for the expansion of the branch network and that will be mainly in the Northern and Eastern Provinces and also other outstation areas. The prospects for regional growth are extremely overwhelming with the culmination of the war and some of the branches which have already been opened are showing phenomenal results," Narangoda said.

He also said that the prospects were positive in these areas for small and medium-scale industries, fisheries and tourism and hotel development as well. With the completion of the Rights Issue, there will be two new branches opened next month in Chavakachcheri and Mullaitivu for which Central Bank approval has been granted.

The Bank will also do its own feasibility study on where the new branches will be located in both the Northern and Eastern Provinces as well as in other outstation areas.