Bond Profits

Aug 31, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka's state-run Nation Savings Bank (NSB) profits for the 6-months to June were up 207.8 percent on capital gains on government bonds held for trading, when market interest rates fell, officials said. "We were able to take the market opportunity when the rates came down and we made a 560 million rupee capital gain," NSB additional general manager H M Hennanayake Bandara said.

"We have taken in profits much as possible from the government securities portfolio."

The bank also saw a flood of new deposits after Golden Key Credit Company, a member of Sri Lanka's Ceylinco group of companies collapsed, leading to a run on a number of group financial firms.

"The general public lost confidence after the Ceylinco debacle and we benefited from that," Hennanayake Bandara said.

In the 6-months to June NSB group capital gains on government securities was up 28 percent to 3.72 billion rupees to the from a year earlier.

"Our fund management company has performed exceptionally well," Hennanayake Bandara said.

NSB's fund management arm, a fully owned unit of the group made 240 million rupees, he said.

For the first six months NSB group interest income was up 22.5 percent to 20.7 bi