People’s Bank negotiating for $75-100 m loan
View(s):The People’s Bank is currently in negotiation with the China-led Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank (AIIB) for a US$75 million-US$100 million loan to be lent to COVID-19-hit local SMEs, the bank said this week.
The bank this year celebrates 60 years of yeoman service of providing financial stability, growth, profitability and leading the way in empowering the lives and livelihoods of Sri Lankan citizens.
Being a state-owned bank, People’s Bank, as its name depicts, is a people-centric financial institution that sets goals to be an exemplary corporate citizen. Despite challenging operating conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 was a watershed year for People’s Bank as the bank turned a new chapter in its six-decade old history, passing the Rs.2.2 trillion mark in assets and achieving a loan book of Rs.1.6 trillion, as the bank’s loans and advances grew over Rs.300 billion in 2020, it said in a media release.
During the COVID -19 pandemic, in order to soften the impact on the overall economy, the bank swiftly implemented a range of relief packages including moratoriums mandated by the government and provided relief to over 480,000 customers, which is the highest number provided by a bank in Sri Lanka. Also, the bank offered Rs.13.7 billion worth of loans under the Saubagya COVID-19 Renaissance Facility, while offering over Rs.10 billion in direct and indirect loans to the country’s agriculture sector, realising the importance of food security during a global pandemic.
Further, the bank provided Rs.14.2 billion worth of financial assistance to small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) and Rs.286 million in loans to women entrepreneurs during 2020. Understanding its wider societal role, the bank also assisted teachers, actors, musicians and other artists by giving loans worth over Rs.330 million while assisting university students lending over Rs.170 million to continue with their education, which included loans to purchase laptops. Further, the bank extended over Rs.6.1 billion in loans to retired/disabled officers of armed forces as at December 31, 2020. The bank has over one million senior citizen account holders, to whom a preferential rate of interest is being paid.
The bank also extended Rs.240 billion in local currency and further Rs.80 billion in foreign currency to the Government of Sri Lanka to manage liquidity shortfalls during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Also the bank purchased Rs.358 billion worth of Treasury Bills and Bonds from the primary auction in 2020, enabling the Treasury and the Central Bank to maintain the rupee interest rates at the desired levels. As one of the largest contributors to the revenue of the exchequer, the bank also remitted Rs.14.4 billion in taxes/dividends to the Government in the last financial year.
“The year 2020 brought in unprecedented challenges due to COVID-19 pandemic, but People’ Bank was able to wade through them largely unscathed thanks to the commitment and the dedication of the Bank’s senior management and each and every member of the staff. They all understood their national duty and were completely up for the task at hand,” Bank Chairman Sujeewa Rajapakse said.