Show & Tell

In a bid to lower lending rates further, the government is asking banks to publish a breakdown of their loan volumes by interest rates.
ldblquote Commercial banks are being directed to publish a breakdown of their lending rates by the interest charged, dblquote Industries Policy Minister G L Pieris told a media briefing this week.rn

rnldblquote For instance if the total loan portfolio is Rs. 20 bn they should publish what portion of that Rs.

20 bn is at 10 percent, 11 percent, 12 percent and so on, dblquote he said.rn

rnFinance Minister K N Choksy met bankers on September 28, in the wake of the latest policy rate cut by Central Bank, to push down rates, but was met with a somewhat cool reception, though the state owned Bank of Ceylon reportedly cut rates across the board by 200 basis points.rn

rnProfessor Pieris says most banks have cut rates by 50 to 200 basis points this year. But critics say lending rates are not falling as fast as deposit rates.

rn

rnAt the moment Central Bank only publish