Fitch affirms DFCC Vardhana Bank’s national long-term rating at AA-(lka)

Fitch Ratings Lanka affirmed DFCC Vardhana Bank Limited's (DVB) National Long-term rating at 'AA-(lka)' (AA minus(lka)) confirming that the outlook for the bank remains stable.

Ranked as one of Sri Lanka’s top corporates with sustained profits and consistent growth figures, DVB has historically recorded high levels on loan growth. Retail loans accounted for slightly over half of the loan portfolio at FYE07, with the remainder consisting of working capital loans to SMEs and second-tier corporates.

During a relatively short span of 5 years, DVB has achieved significant progress with a branch network numbering 41, as opposed to the three it initially started out with. Armed with a capital of Rs. 2.6 billion, DVB’s deposit base is a staggering Rs.17 billion, while its lending portfolio is at Rs.13 billion. The bank has also increased its rate of interest on saving accounts to a record high of 10%, while other banks offer the usual 4%.

DVB also boasts one of the best capital adequacy, advance to deposit and liquidity ratios in the country. At present, DFCC Vardhana Bank is one of the most liquid banks in Sri Lanka, in addition to prudent management practices of asset structure, enabling higher returns and stability to customers.

Assets are primarily funded by customer deposits which accounted for 71.7% of DVB's funding mix at FYE07 - growth has been strong with a CAGR of 65% from FYE04-FYE07.

An equity infusion by DFCC via a Rs.893m rights issue in December 2007 enabled DVB to meet the regulatory Rs.2.5bn minimum capital requirement for licensed commercial banks by the stipulated deadline of end-December 2007.

Recently, DFCC Vardhana Bank, in a bid to improve access to their services, signed a historical MoU with Sri Lanka Post, thus enabling the country’s population better access and services to their financial products.

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