News & market updates

The Sri Lanka Institute of Directors and ICCS Sri Lanka held a Board Secretaries Forum on 21 Jan 2026 focused on implementing Beneficial Ownership requirements and announced a repeat session for 17 Feb due to high demand. Panelists included a Pan Asia Banking Corporation PLC representative and the Colombo Stock Exchange Chief Regulatory Officer.

Pan Asia Banking Corporation (PABC.N0000) has partnered with Pine Labs to deploy the cloud-native, API-first Credit+ full-stack credit card management platform to handle card issuance, activation, billing, payments, reconciliation and settlement, enabling scalable card services.

Pan Asia Banking Corporation (PABC.N0000) will deploy Pine Labs' cloud-native, API-first Credit+ platform for end-to-end credit card issuance, authorization, billing, reconciliation and settlement. The system will integrate with the bank's core platform to enable scalable, real-time controls and product configuration.

CEOs of Amana Bank, Seylan Bank, Pan Asia and Union Bank said Sri Lanka's banking sector is pursuing continuous, capital-intensive digital transformation, highlighting legacy systems, governance, costs and cyber risk as the main execution challenges.

ASPI rose 0.03% (7.45 pts) to 23,813.77 while the S&P SL20 slipped 0.02% to 6,617.85; turnover was Rs.8.3 billion and foreigners were net sellers with a reported net outflow of Rs.144.6 billion. Top contributors included HNB, DFCC, UML, RICH and ASCO, with DOCK, HAYL and SFCL dragging the index.

Government will launch a concessionary pledge loan scheme from 1 Jan to help SME paddy millers access loans up to Rs.50 million at 7% for 180 days. Fifteen banks will participate, including COMB.N0000, HNB.N0000, SAMP.N0000, DFCC.N0000, NDB.N0000, NTB.N0000, ABL.N0000, CBNK.N0000 and PABC.N0000; total disbursements ~Rs.10bn.

Pan Asia Banking Corporation (PABC) began the year with Chairman Aravinda Perera and CEO Naleen Edirisinghe addressing staff, stressing people, trust, responsibility and the courage to act, with a focus on culture, leadership development and empowering employees for sustained growth.

The Central Bank fined seven firms a combined Rs.9.5m for AML/CFT non-compliance, including Rs.2m on LOLC Finance, Rs.1m on Pan Asia Bank and Rs.1m on National Development Bank for failures in reporting and sanctions screening.

Sri Lanka's Financial Intelligence Unit collected Rs9.5mn in administrative penalties from reporting institutions, including LOLC Finance, National Development Bank and Pan Asia Banking, for AML/CFT non-compliance for July–September 2025. The penalties were credited to the Consolidated Fund.

CSE ended mixed with the ASPI up 0.13% to 21,927.00 and the S&P SL20 down 0.05% to 6,011.31, on turnover of about Rs.2.56bn and foreign net selling of ~Rs.68.6m. Top positive contributors included DOCK, RICH, SAMP, JKH and CARG, while SFCL, SUN, RCL, LOLC and HHL were among decliners.

IBSL's National Banking and Finance Conference on 1–2 Dec 2025 will host a CEO Forum on "Digital Transformation and Financial Sustainability", featuring CEOs from Seylan Bank (SEYB.N0000), Pan Asia (PABC.N0000) and Union Bank (UBC.N0000), with DFCC Bank (DFCC.N0000) moderating.

APB Sri Lanka held a CPDC program titled 'AI in HR' bringing industry leaders to discuss integrating AI in recruitment, performance management and learning to boost workforce agility across the banking industry.

Daraz Sri Lanka will run its 11.11 Biggest Sale from Nov 10 (8:00pm) to Nov 21 with discounts up to 90%, Rs.120 million in vouchers and sitewide flash deals. Participating banks (NTB, HNB, NDB, Commercial Bank, Sampath, DFCC, Pan Asia) and brands including Hayleys will offer additional partner discounts and instalment options.

The Chief Internal Auditor’s Forum of Banks appointed its 7th committee at the AGM on 30 July 2025, naming Dulan Abeyratne (HSBC) as President and including committee members from NDB, DFCC, Cargills Bank, Pan Asia, Amana Bank and Nations Trust Bank.

Pan Asia Banking Corporation (PABC) reported a 36% rise in PAT to Rs. 3.02 billion and EPS of Rs. 6.83 for the nine months to 30 Sep 2025. The bank also reported a 2.06% Stage-3 loan ratio, 4.64% NIM, loans up 26%, deposits up Rs. 26bn and strong capital ratios (CET1 15.43%).

Colombo market rally extended to a 14th session as the ASPI closed at 22,094.89, topping 22,000 for the first time with turnover around Rs.9.7–9.8 billion. Banking and diversified financials led turnover (Commercial Bank, Pan Asia, Lanka Credit & Business Finance among top contributors) while foreigners were net sellers.

Colombo Stock Exchange rose as the ASPI gained 0.57% to 21,085, led by Sierra Cables and diversified conglomerates; market turnover was Rs 6.5bn with Sierra Cables contributing Rs 1.2bn. Top index contributors included John Keells, Hayleys, Sierra Cables, Melstacorp and Aitken Spence; net foreign inflow was Rs 58.21m.

Colombo Stock Exchange closed higher as the ASPI rose 1.30% to 20,619 with turnover of Rs 6.21bn, led by gains in banks and capital goods. Key risers included Commercial Bank, Sampath Bank, HNB, Aitken Spence, DFCC and active trading in Sierra Cables.

Colombo market fell as the ASPI and S&P SL20 declined 1.25% amid profit-taking led by banks, with ASPI down 257 points — the largest intraday drop since 23 June. Turnover was Rs.4 billion and foreigners recorded a net outflow of Rs.80.5 million; several bank counters led losses.

Pan Asia Banking Corporation PLC won the Platinum Award for Maximising Customer Engagement at the Infosys Finacle Innovation Awards 2025 for its 'Falcon Eye' platform. 'Falcon Eye' unifies customer data into a single interface to speed service, reduce operational risk and enable cross-selling.

Pan Asia Banking Corporation (PABC.N0000) said the Central Bank will extend the suspension of its primary dealer license for a further six months effective August 15. The bank said the suspension will not affect regular banking activities or secondary market trading; the license has been suspended since August 2017 over transactions with Perpetual Treasuries.

ASPI fell 0.64% to 19,786 after briefly crossing the 20,000 mark, with turnover of Rs.4.53bn and foreign net outflow of Rs.8.2m. Banking stocks and conglomerates weighed on the market, with JKH, MELS, NDB, AEL and BUKI among top negative contributors while DFCC and Royal Ceramics saw gains.

Brand Finance published Sri Lanka's 100 Most Valuable Brands for 2025, ranking Bank of Ceylon top with a brand value of Rs.57,411m; Commercial Bank, Dialog and People’s Bank follow the top positions. The list covers firms across banking, telecoms, FMCG, healthcare, hospitality and other sectors.

ASPI rose to a record 19,914 (+1.38%, +272 pts) as investor confidence from a favourable US tariff ruling and strong interim results lifted the market. Banking and materials led turnover, with HNB, JKH, COMB, DFCC, NDB, PABC, DIPD, PKME, CBNK and COOP among the top contributors.

Pan Asia Banking Corporation (PABC) reported 1H 2025 PAT up 110% to Rs. 2.15 billion and EPS of Rs. 4.86. The bank also reported a low Stage 3 loan ratio of 2.39% and strong capital ratios (CET1 16.65%, Total Capital 18.32%).

Colombo market closed July with ASPI up 9% for the month (ASPI YTD +23%) and S&P SL20 up 7.7% (YTD +18.5%), with average daily turnover in July at Rs.7.16bn. Banking-led activity saw HAYL, DFCC, BIL, NDB and COCR as key contributors while foreigners were net sellers (Rs.134m).

Pan Asia Banking Corporation (PABC) reported a 71% rise in net profit for the June 2025 quarter to Rs 1,135.1 million (EPS Rs 2.56). The bank cited lower interest expenses, reduced impairments and income taxes; stage 3 loans fell to 2.39% and Tier-1 ratio was 16.65%.