| Business |
||||||
|
HSBC
celebrates over 100 years of banking
The bank originally
established its presence as an agency under Delmege Reid and Co,
which today is Delmege Forsyth and Company Ltd. It opened its branch
office at Queen's Street in 1892. The main business then was the
financing of tea and coffee exports. The influence
of the Dutch in the bank's operations in the early days was significant.
The clerical staff was predominantly Dutch Burgher who brought with
them high ideas of integrity and self-esteem. It is also interesting
to note the shroff system where the locals acted as intermediaries
between clients and expatriate English officers of the bank. As a foreign
bank, HSBC had gone through trying times that forced other foreign
banks to pull out. These were instances like the introduction of
exchange controls in 1948 and the prohibition on opening accounts
for locals in 1963. HSBC then sold some of its branches in places
like Jaffna, Kandy and Galle, but was committed to staying in the
country. The banking
industry as a whole was given a boost in 1977 with the liberalisation
of the economy and the introduction of new market-friendly policies.
HSBC took advantage of this and further developed its business.
In 1980 it became the first bank in the country to be computerised
and in 1986, the first bank to introduce Automated Teller Machines.
Although the
economy has gone through times of uncertainty due to the ethnic
conflict since 1983, HSBC continued its development drive. "A
lot of foreign banks came and went during this period, but HSBC
as a policy was committed to stay through the unfavourable climate
without rationalizing its business," said Sarath Piyaratne,
HSBC Deputy Chief Executive Officer, "This has paid off and
as a result we are by far the largest foreign bank in terms of profits
and we are now competing with the local banks." HSBC opened
its first branch in Kandy in 1992 and subsequently eight others
in Colombo. Its staff strength has grown from 150 in 1983 to 750
today. It has added many dimensions to the products and services
of the banking industry. Largely seen as a corporate bank, HSBC
has expanded into consumer banking as well. Currently, the bank
has segmented its markets and has various service oriented product
offerings. In corporate banking, the bank offers comprehensive trade
services and payment and cash management services. "We have
over the last 20 years made heavy investments on banking technology
and we are now enjoying market dominance in credit cards and securities,
custody and trustee services," Piyaratne said. "We have
also invested on staff training and development. The commitment
of our staff working as a team in delivering an unparalleled level
of customer service has been a key to our success and our 110-year
presence as a global bank instils a sense trust and confidence among
customers." Looking towards the future, the bank is considering
insurance and investment-related services provided the regulatory
structures are put in place. HSBC also takes social responsibility
as an operating mandate and as group policy, supports environment
protection and the education of underprivileged children. The bank
commits a percentage of its profits towards these initiatives every
year. Sri
Lanka raises $250 million debt to finance national budget D. Dheerasinghe,
Superintendent of Public Debt at the Central Bank, said the government
has raised $250 million to finance the national budget through an
instrument called the Sri Lanka Development Bond (SLDB). The dollar
bonds were sold to non-resident Sri Lankans through local commercial
banks in four tranches, the last tranche being taken up 10 days
ago. It is the first
time such bonds have been issued here. "Going by the success
of these bonds, the government is likely to consider raising more
foreign money to finance its debt in the future," he said.
On Friday, $ 91.5 million was raised through the issue of SLDB's
while $ 158.5 million was raised through three tranches in November
and December 2001. The latest tranche was raised at six months Libor plus 193 basis points compared to previous tranches issued at six months Libor plus 200 basis points.
|
||||||
Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
