The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has announced a significant increase in the interest rate offered to Sri Lankan Personal Foreign Currency (PFC) account holders, via the Bank’s ‘FC Plus’ account.
Individuals who open an FC Plus foreign currency account at Commercial Bank will be eligible to receive an interest rate of 4.5% per annum for US Dollar deposits, the Bank said.
Interest will be calculated on the daily balance and credited to customers’ accounts monthly, enabling them to earn interest on interest, resulting in their foreign currency savings growing faster than other foreign currency accounts and earning a higher return than overseas deposit rates.
The Bank said the interest rate for FC Plus accounts is linked to the LIBOR (London Inter-Bank Offered Rate) – the internationally-accepted benchmark for foreign currency interest rates – and is structured so that the higher the balance, the higher the rate of interest earned. The rates are reviewed monthly.
Customers can now deposit foreign currency notes too to this account, after validating the source of funds according to the stipulated criteria, and funds can be withdrawn at any time, the Bank said.
FC Plus accounts can be opened with a minimum deposit of 5,000/- in any of four foreign currencies, the US Dollar, Euro, Sterling Pound or Australian Dollar, and progressively higher rates of interest will be paid on account balances that are within the slabs of upto 50,000; 50,001 - to 100,000; and above 100,001, the Bank disclosed.
Commercial Bank’s FC Plus account holders are saved the hassle of maintaining a passbook, and receive periodic account statements for added flexibility and convenience. They also enjoy fast, and convenient 24 x 7 unlimited access to their accounts from anywhere in the world through online banking or through millions of ATMs belonging to the Cirrus or Visa networks.
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 10 years consecutively, Commercial Bank operates a network of 268 branches and 932 automated machines in Sri Lanka.
The first and the only Bank in Sri Lanka to achieve carbon neutral status, Commercial Bank’s overseas operations encompass Bangladesh, where the Bank operates 19 outlets; Myanmar, where it has a Microfinance company in Nay Pyi Taw; and the Maldives, where the Bank has a fully-fledged Tier I Bank with a majority stake.