The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) and the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on November 13 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, to strengthen bilateral trade, investment, and business cooperation between Sri Lanka and Gujarat, a news release from the Sri Lanka High Commission in Delhi said.

The MoU was signed by Chairperson of The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, Krishan Balendra, and President of the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Sandeep R. Engineer.The signing took place during the visit to Gujara of Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India, Mahishini Colonne, marking her first official state-level engagement since assuming office.

The initiative and arrangements leading to the signing were facilitated by Sri Lanka’s Honorary Consul in Gujarat, Rakesh Shah, whose efforts played a key role in bringing the two chambers together.

Under the MoU, the Ceylon Chamber and the GCCI will collaborate to promote business opportunities, facilitate joint ventures and partnerships, organize B2B engagements, and enhance knowledge-sharing between the private sectors of both economies.

“It is hoped that the partnership would also serve to deepen maritime and logistics cooperation and build on the complementarities between Gujarat’s major ports and Sri Lanka’s role as a regional transshipment hub,” the release said.

Both Chambers expressed confidence that the MoU will open new avenues for trade, investment, and sustainable economic cooperation.

Sri Lanka Insurance Life has partnered with the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) to launch the “Sri Lanka Insurance Life Rakawarana Retirement Plan,” a tailored retirement solution for legal professionals. This exclusive plan, designed to enhance the financial security of BASL members, offers a guaranteed income after retirement, along with additional protection through Accidental Death Cover. Members can choose a retirement age between 45 and 70 years, with a guaranteed monthly income that increases by 5% annually. They can also receive up to five times their monthly pension as a health benefit each year, with no need for hospital bills. In the event of the policyholder’s death, the beneficiary will continue to receive the annuity and bonuses.

The plan offers flexible payment options (monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, or annually) and covers individuals aged 18 to 60, with policy terms ranging from 5 to 40 years. It also includes options for additional benefits like family protection, permanent disability cover, and critical illness coverage.

BASL President Rajeev Amarasuriya emphasized the importance of this collaboration in securing members’ financial futures, while Sri Lanka Insurance Life CEO Nalin Subasinghe highlighted the plan’s role in providing tailored financial solutions for the legal community.

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon group has reported gross income of Rs. 268.49 Bn. and net interest income of Rs. 103.48 Bn. at the end of the third quarter of 2025, with strong year-on-year growth of 34.60% in the loan book and curtailed interest expenses contributing to an impressive nine-month performance.

Comprising of Sri Lanka’s largest private sector bank, its subsidiaries and an associate, the Group reported in a filing with the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) that interest income grew by 6.96% to Rs. 221.53 Bn. for the nine months ending 30th September 2025, while interest expenses for the period remained static at Rs. 118.05 Bn. as a result of the lower cost of funds and continuing improvement in the CASA ratio.

Consequently, net interest income at Rs. 103.48 Bn. for the nine months reviewed, grew by 16.30% in contrast to the 11.08% growth in gross income. In the third quarter, gross income grew by 16.37% to Rs. 91.46 Bn., while interest income for the three months improved by 10.35% to Rs. 74.88 Bn., with the loan book growing by 10.14% at a monthly average of Rs. 58.51 Bn.

“Our commitment to lending remains undiminished, because we believe that our capacity to support national economic growth targets must be fully leveraged within prudential limits” said Sharhan Muhseen, Chairman of Commercial Bank. “The group’s performance reflects the impacts of this approach, and we expect similar strong growth in the final quarter of the year, in line with the trajectory of economic and business recovery.”

Sanath Manatunge, Managing Director/CEO of Commercial Bank said the Bank’s ability to sustain growth in the loan book backed by a focus on yield management and cost optimization helped the Bank to post these strong results for the nine months reviewed. He said that the Bank maintained a strong focus on the CASA ratio, which stood at 39.92% as at 30th September 2025, compared to 38.07% at end December 2024 and 39.60% a year ago, helping the Bank to keep the cost of funds under control.

Total operating income increased by 21.41% to Rs. 140.49 Bn. for the nine months while the Group’s impairment charges and other losses for the period declined by 28.21% to Rs. 14.37 Bn., primarily due to the previous year’s figure including an additional provisioning for the Sri Lanka International Sovereign Bonds (SLISBs) held by the Bank. For the third quarter of 2025, the Group reported a total operating income of Rs. 47.74 Bn., an improvement of 24.13%.

The Group posted a net operating income of Rs. 126.13 Bn. for the nine months, reflecting an impressive growth of 31.79%, while keeping operating expenses at Rs. 39.41 Bn., an increase of only 8.00%, resulting in operating profit before taxes on financial services growing by a noteworthy 46.46% to Rs. 86.71 Bn.

Taxes on financial services increased by 50.72% to Rs. 13.36 Bn., leading to Group profit before income tax of Rs. 73.35 Bn. for the nine months with a growth of 45.71%. Income tax increased by 34.71% to Rs. 25.33 Bn., resulting in a net profit of Rs. 48.02 Bn. for the Group during the nine months reviewed, representing an impressive bottom-line growth of 52.27%. The Group reported a net profit of Rs. 16.86 Bn., recording an improvement of 33.38% for the third quarter of the year.

Taken separately, Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC reported a profit before tax of Rs. 70.57 Bn. and profit after tax of Rs. 46.02 Bn. for the nine months reviewed, recording growths of 44.83% and 51.51% respectively.

Total assets of the Group increased by Rs 357 Bn. or 12.40% during the nine months to reach Rs. 3.233 Tn., as at 30th September 2025. Asset growth over the preceding 12 months was Rs. 469 Bn. or 16.99%.

The Group’s continued impetus in lending saw gross loans and advances growing by Rs. 381 Bn. or 25.01% over the nine months to Rs. 1.907 Tn., at a monthly average of Rs. 42.39 Bn. Loan book growth over the preceding 12 months was Rs. 490 Bn., with YoY growth of 34.60%, averaging Rs. 40.85 Bn. per month.

Deposits grew by 12.26% to Rs. 2.589 Tn. in the nine months, an increase of Rs. 283 Bn. at an average monthly growth of Rs 31.40 Bn., and recorded YoY growth of 16.27%, with monthly average growth of Rs 30.18 Bn., over the preceding 12 months.

In other key performance indicators, the Bank’s Tier 1 and Total Capital Ratios stood at 13.391% and 17.282% respectively as at 30th September 2025, both comfortably above the statutory minimum ratios applicable for the Bank of 10% and 14% respectively.

In terms of profitability, the Bank’s net interest margin increased to 4.53% for the nine months compared to 4.27% reported at end 2024 and 4.38% a year ago. The Bank’s return on assets (before tax) improved to 3.19% compared to 2.47% a year ago, while the return on equity improved to 21.03% from 17.42% as at 30th September 2024.

The Bank’s cost to income ratio excluding taxes on financial services stood at 27.95%, as against the normalized ratio of 33.85% for 2024, while the figure inclusive of taxes on financial services was 37.69% for the period, in comparison with the normalized ratio of 41.89% for the preceding year, when the effect of the net loss on restructuring of Sri Lanka International Sovereign Bonds is discounted.

In terms of asset quality, the Bank’s impaired loans (Stage 3) ratio improved further to 1.79% compared to 4.08% a year ago, while its impairment (Stage 3) to Stage 3 loans ratio for the reviewed period improved to 71.43%, as against 64.61% as at 31st December 2024 and 53.54% as at 30th September 2024.