No Surprises

Commercial Bank of Ceylon retained its AA+ (sri) national rating for its implied long-term unsecured senior debt, from Fitch Ratings Lanka Ltd. Commercial Bank of Ceylon retained its AA+ (sri) national rating for its implied long-term unsecured senior debt, from Fitch Ratings Lanka Ltd. Fitch also affirms the AA (sri) rating assigned to the bank's subordinated debentures and the AA-(sri) rating assigned to its redeemable preference shares. The rating outlook is stable.

AA+ (sri) rating denotes a very low expectation of credit risk, with a very strong capacity to meet financial commitments on time. This capacity is not significantly vulnerable to foreseeable events.

Commercial Bank has maintained its sound financial profile, which is possibly the best amongst the local commercial banks.

Besides its traditional strength in corporate banking Commercial Bank has developed a banking franchise amongst small and medium sized companies, as well as consumers. In 2004 retail and consumer banking accounted for around 42 percent of loans and approximately 45 percent of profits, says Fitch.

The bank achieved double digit growth in bo