Efforts are under way by Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank of Ceylon in partnership with a local company, to set up a subsidiary in the Maldives.
Lanka Business Online has reported that the bank intends to invest in a 55 percent stake in this banking subsidiary, and the remaining 45 percent will be owned by the partner company.
Services to be offered by the new bank include 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.
“We are delighted to receive a licence to operate a fully-fledged banking subsidiary in the Maldives,” Managing Director and CEO of Ceylon Commercial Bank Jegan Durairatnam said in a statement. “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.”
The bank also has subsidiaries in Bangladesh and Myanmar.