Agri business loan rates reduced by 3.5% in 2020 to date SME loan rates cut by 4% this year Gold loan rates reduced by 5% since January The
The bank took steps to reduce lending rates in February, before the full onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and also responded swiftly during the lockdown period by reducing lending rates on two more occasions. Accordingly its rates for agri business loans, SME loans and gold loans have been reduced in 2020 by 3.
5%, 4% and 5% respectively.Sri Lanka's benchmark private sector bank, which has also launched two separate bank-funded support loan schemes since May to support COVID-19 affected borrowers, said the rate cut, effective 24 June, covers all new home loans, leasing, personal loans, pawning, Diribala development loans for SMEs, green and pensioners' loans as well as loans provided under the special bank-funded agri business and COVID-19 relief loan schemes.
Additionally, loans provided under the bank's 'Dirishakthi COVID-19 Support Loan' scheme designed to meet the working capital requirements and revive operations of micro businesses whose annual turnover is below
"The depths to which some business sectors have been affected continues to be revealed as we step up our efforts to provide a lifeline and sustain companies and the economy until business volumes and cash flows improve," Commercial Bank Managing Director
"As a systemically important bank, the
5% to 10.5% and 11.5%.Meanwhile the rate on Diribala loans designed for SMEs and micro enterprises in the industrial and services sectors, reduced by 2% in May, have been slashed by a further 2% for both five and seven year tenors to 9.
5% and 10.5% respectively, the bank said.Besides the launch of its the 'Dirishakthi COVID-19 Support Loan' scheme for micro entrepreneurs,
10 billion to provide loans to SMEs affected by COVID-19, after it obtained a loan of
The interest rates on home loans have been reduced by up to 1.5% to 9.
75% for 10-year loans, 10.5% for loans of over 10 years, and 9% for 'Privilege' home loans.Leasing, biz loan and personal loan customers benefit from reductions of up to 1.
5% on their respective rates of interest.Pensioners' loans are benefitted by a rate cut of 1.
5% on loans of up to 84 months, and the rates are subject to further change at the discretion of the management, the bank said.Meanwhile, the rates applicable to green loans and leases that support conversion to renewable energy and investment in other eco-friendly practices have also been slashed by a further 1% to 10% for three-year loans and 11.5% for seven-year loans.
The bank has also taken the initiative to further reduce the pawning interest rate, reduced to 11% p.a.
in May, by a further 1% to 10% effective 24 June.One of the largest lenders to the SME sector,
In April the bank announced a series of concessions for borrowers whose loans had already been classified as non-performing based on a
In May, the bank announced a reduction of lending rates across the board for new loans, leases, pawning and overdraft facilities.The first Sri Lankan bank to be listed among the Top 1000 Banks of the World and the only Sri Lankan bank to be so listed for nine years consecutively,
The bank, which won more than 50 international and local awards in 2019, operates a network of 268 branches and 865 ATMs in Sri Lanka.
© Pakistan Press International, source