Commercial Bank to commence fully-fledged banking operations in the Maldives
View(s):The Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC has announced plans to extend its services to the Republic of Maldives following the receipt of regulatory approval for the establishment of a fully-fledged Tier I Bank in the idyllic archipelago. Sri Lanka’s largest private bank has received approval from both the Maldives Monetary Authority and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to set up a banking subsidiary in the Maldives, the bank said in an announcement on Friday.
The Maldives will be the third overseas banking operation of Commercial Bank, after Bangladesh, which the Bank entered in 2003, and Myanmar where the bank opened a Representative Office in June this year.
The statement said its new subsidiary is to be named ‘Commercial Bank of Maldives Pvt Limited’ where the local bank will invest in a 55 per cent stake in the entity subject to Exchange Control and other regulatory approvals. A leading Maldivian group of companies will own the remaining stake.
“We are delighted to receive a licence to operate a fully-fledged banking subsidiary in the Maldives,” Commercial Bank’s Managing Director and CEO Jegan Durairatnam said. “Sri Lanka and the Maldives enjoy the closest possible bilateral relations and are linked by extremely strong economic ties. Sri Lankan companies operate hotels in the Maldives, large numbers of Sri Lankans are employed in the Maldivian hospitality industry, and Sri Lanka provides services to Maldivian visitors in many spheres including education and healthcare. It is therefore logical that a bank of the size and calibre of Commercial Bank has a presence in the Maldives.”
“Our entry strategy is to establish a single branch initially in Malé and thereafter increase our presence to up to three branches by the fifth year,” Mr Durairatnam said. The new bank will offer individuals and corporate entities in the Maldives a variety of financial services such as savings and current accounts, fixed deposits, personal loans, housing loans, credit cards, overdrafts, commercial loans, trade financing services, internet banking, mobile banking, remittances and foreign exchange.