“Nation Lanka shelves deposit-to-shares conversion plan”
With reference to the article under the above headline in the Business Times last week, the Nation Lanka Finance PLC (NLF) wishes to clarify sections of the report as follows:
“The original plan was to convert the remaining balance of Rs. 97 million (as at May 2013) of the legacy borrowings inherited from the Ceylinco Securities and Financial Services, and not the entire deposits and borrowings of the company as reported.
In addition to this NLF has paid off approximately Rs. 1.4 billion to date of the inherited legacy borrowings from internal generated funds and the remaining Rs. 75 million (as at December 2013) is being serviced according to the original re-payment plan. We are one of the very few companies of the Ceylinco group which have paid off affected depositors.
The NLF is a strong and resilient company with approximately Rs. 5.0 billion in assets, 22 branches and having recently posted a net profit, after an absence of five years.
The audit that was conducted was an on-site audit which is a regular occurrence by the Central Bank for all banks and finance companies and not a forensic audit as stated.”