Mercantile Investments extends services with COVID-19 compliance    

Mercantile Investments and Finance PLC (MI), since the unprecedented COVID-19 crises that erupted from mid- March 2020, has been able to take swift measures towards ensuring that the corporate promptly fulfills its obligations towards its key stakeholders. 
As immediate measures, steps were taken to ensure all MI operating locations are fully COVID-19 compliant by providing hand washing facilities before entering premises, thermometer readings and displaying of instructions to make wearing of mask and following of hygiene practices essential, for the safety of customers and staff during the pandemic, the company said in a media release.   
As curfew restrictions have been eased, MI customers can easily obtain services from its branch network of 39 fully fledged locations scattered across the country in key regions. The company is on the verge of affording additional digitization-based payment solutions for the convenience of its customers which include M-cash facilitated payments, ATM facilities and an online payment solution that is planned to be launched during the year. 
The company is strongly capitalized with shareholder funds exceeding Rs 8.5 billion and statutory capital adequacy ratios of “Tier 1” 14.31% and “Total Risk Weighted Capital Ratio” of 16.01% which stands well above the regulatory minimum, based on its last stock exchange filling. Furthermore, with the current challenging economic climate and company’s performance standing, MI’s rating of BBB- (Negative outlook) was reaffirmed by Fitch Ratings Lanka Ltd. this month.