Hungry Mouths

HSBC Bank picked up Rs. 400 mn worth of leased backed paper, locking returns for up to four-years.



HSBC Bank picked up Rs. 400 mn worth of leased backed paper, locking returns for up to four-years. People's Leasing Co. issued the lease-backed securities in the form of a direct loan as a cost effective method to feed its Rs. 15 bn leasing portfolio.

PLC's CEO D P Kumarage was coy about the loan's price, but said that both parties were comfortable with issue.

The leasing company engineered a similar deal last year with state-run Bank of Ceylon for a Rs. 250 mn four year loan.

For the 2004/5 financial year, People’s Leasing has raised Rs. 2.3 bn via term loans, securitization and foreign credit lines.

Unlike other leasing companies, PLC specialises in bus leases, which currently accounts for 40 percent of its portfolio.

The firm recently ventured into financing plantation machinery.

PLC also has an A (sri) rating from Fitch Ratings Lanka for a billion rupee securitisation programme. The leasing giant successfully used its rating to raise up to Rs.

500 mn by way of securitised paper.