The Chairman and Board of Directors of SMB Finance PLC announced ambitious growth plans at a press conference held yesterday having recently being awarded a Finance Business Licence by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. SMB Finance PLC Chairman, Mr. Ravi Wijeratne, stated that the award of the License to SMB reflects the Company’s strong balance sheet having a core capital well in excess of minimum requirements by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. Prior to obtaining the finance business license, SMB assisted the Central Bank’s consolidation program of the non-bank financial institutions sector by settling identified depositors of a troubled finance company.
The Chief Executive Office of SMB Finance PLC, Mr. Supul Wijesinghe stated that the Company would now embark on a growth strategy, with plans to open new branches covering all major provinces. At the same time, SMB Finance plans to launch several new products targeting the small and medium enterprise sector, which has been adversely affected as a consequence of the country’s economic crisis. During the last three financial years, SMB Finance has grown its assets portfolio by over 300%. This growth was achieved through prudent lending practices and as a consequence of growth in shareholder capital by 200% during the same period.
SMB Finance expects to continue broadening its SME client base through greater focus on introducing innovative industry specific and customer centric products by astutely evaluating each industry’s financing needs. The company expects to announce and launch its new product portfolio in the first quarter of 2023, Wijesinghe added.
