The Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka Consolidation completed-Chairman Shah

Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka PLC (MBSL), the pioneer merchant banking arm of the financial power house, the Bank of Ceylon, marked the New Year dawn with the announcement of consolidating its finance company status after merging with two subsidiaries, MCSL Financial Services Ltd and MBSL Savings Bank. The announcement was made by M R Shah, the Chairman of Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka at the New Year Celebration 2015, held at Merchant Tower building last Thursday.

The merger of Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka marks the first successful merger under the financial sector consolidation plan adopted by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL). Both MCSL Financial Services Ltd and MBSL Savings Bank will cease their operations and will continue business under the brand name “Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka”. This will also overcome the capital adequacy shortfalls of the MBSL Savings Bank, which was a challenge over the past couple of years.

Speaking at the occasion the Chairman of the new merged entity, Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka, M R Shah said that the merger process of the Merchant group was initiated way back in 2011, but it could not be implemented due to various issues. The regulator, Central Bank of Sri Lanka taking the forefront to implement a consolidation plan for the financial sector came as a blessing to re- energise the process. He further said that if it wasn’t for the guidance of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and the blessing of the parent of MBSL, the Bank of Ceylon, this merger could not have been materialised. The Chairman also expressed gratitude to all the Central Bank authorities for their timely intervention and guidance which facilitated the completion of the long awaited merger.

The event was well attended by distinguished guests and all the staff members of the new merged entity. The Chief Guest Bank of Ceylon Chairman Air Chief Marshal Harsha Abeywickrama speaking at the occasion said that the Bank of Ceylon is critical of the returns of all its investments in subsidiaries due to the fact that, Bank of Ceylon is investing public moneys and as the number one Bank in Sri Lanka, the Bank of Ceylon is responsible to the people of the country. He further added that as the Chairman of the Bank of Ceylon he is happy to see the commitment and the dedication of the Chairman and the Board of Directors of the Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka together with the management and staff, to drive the entity to greater heights.

Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka is planning to focus aggressively on the new business opportunities that came to light with the merger. Savings, Deposits, Pawning, and Property Development will be focused while expanding existing sectors such as Micro Financing, SME financing, Leasing and HP.

The Branch Network of the Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka has grown from 30 to 50 Branches, over night, with the merger covering far corners like North and the Eastern districts of the island. Also the merger has paved the way to adopt a new infrastructure plan for Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka. They plan to deploy new ATM facilities together with internet and mobile banking in the near future.

“All what we can say is that, our customers can look forward to a superior product offering and a world class service” said T Mutugala, the CEO of Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka. In his speech, while thanking the Chairman and the Board of Directors of Merchant Bank and Bank of Ceylon, he said that, “With the dawn of 2015, Merchant Bank has entered to a new era. The entire Team of Merchant Bank is committed to serve the needs of all customers better than ever before. That’s the most important synergy that this merger has brought to MBSL”, he said.