Lankaputhra Development Bank commenced its operations in June 2006, and was established under the mindset of the 'Mahinda Chinthanaya', mainly with the intention of promoting entrepreneurship in the small and medium sectors of the country. In addition to this the bank also focuses on neutralizing some of the regional imbalances with regards to the various sectors of the country. The Sunday Times spoke to Mr. Ravi Dassanayake, General Manager/CEO of Lankaputhra Development Bank to find out about the bank's future plans and goals.
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| Mr. Ravi Dassanayake, General Manager/CEO of Lankaputhra Development Bank |
"The primary focus of most of the developments banks in the country has now shifted away from the small and medium sectors, where blue-chip companies and other mega players has now become their main areas of attention. In addition to this with most of the development banks moving into commercial banking the developed lending aspect has also been curtailing, thereby creating a lacunae in the small and medium sectors in the industry.
As the regional development banks in the country also only focuses only on a selected region, there was a national need in the country to establish a banking institution that largely focused on enterprise development where emphasis was provided on promoting Sri Lankans to become successful businessmen on a local as well as international level. Lankaputha Development Bank was therefore established with the intention catering to this national need", says Mr. Dassanayake.
Lankaputhra is a truly Sri Lankan bank that provides financial assistance to innovative entrepreneurs with a fully government security assurance. The small and medium entrepreneurs of Sri Lanka now have the opportunity to obtain loan facilities from the bank to invest in projects that contribute towards national development. This can be in the form of starting a new business venture or to develop an existing business for which credit facilities will be provided at concessionary interest rates. The bank also provides entrepreneurs with the required managerial advice and guidance with regards to their business projects.
With the bank's amalgamation, which took place between the Private Sector Infrastructure Development Company Limited (PSIDC) and the SME Bank in the year 2008, the capital base of the bank was expanded well over Rs. 3.0 billion. This places the bank in a strong and stable position with regards to its capacity to lending. The bank currently has six branches operational in the areas of Colombo, Hambantota, Polonaruwa, Kegalle, Kandy and Wennapuwa.
"This year we will be opening branches in the areas of Batticaloa, Mannar, Jaffna, Anuradhapura, Trincomalee and Kurunegala. With the liberation of the North and East we foresee good potential in these areas with regards to the micro industries where agriculture, fisheries and diary farming etc., will play a vital role. In addition to our vehicle leasing facilities we have also broadened our services into equipment leasing as well. The bank therefore is already on a fast track, where we hope to introduce many more new projects under the governments 'Uthuru Wasanthaya' programme. We also hope to introduce the novel concept of branchless banking in the near future, which will offer mini mobile online banking services, where the bank will visit the doorsteps of the customers", further stated Mr. Dassanayake.
Being a development bank, Lankaputhra also made plans to promote consulting advisory services, though its large database of consultants. With the intention of promoting Sri Lanka entrepreneurs the bank is working in close coordination with a number of institutions that includes the Treasury and International Vendors with the focus of promoting Sri Lankan brands. The bank has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Industrial Development Board (IDP) to promote the small and medium sector entrepreneurs by working out successful projects for them.
Commenting on the bank's future outlook, Mr. Dassanayake said, "We are working towards an accelerated balance sheet growth, where we hope to increase our portfolio to cover a wider section of the country, in addition to providing better training and development for our staff. We see this year to be a progressive one for the bank where many opportunities are available to us and through which we hope to increase rural development in the country and thereby truly live up to our vision of becoming the heartbeat of the Sri Lankan people." |
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