By Shabiya Ali Ahlam
Good times have returned for The Finance Company (TFC), Sri Lanka’s first Non-Banking Financial Institution (NBFI), as for the first time after several years of unhealthy performance the entity has finally being able to steer its key performance indicator to the correct path. Despite having recorded a loss of Rs.1.84 billion for the financial year 2014/2015,1.7 percent higher against the Rs.1.78 billion recorded 2013/2014, the latest annual report of TFC shows that it has made progress in the area of loan disbursement, interest income, deposit mobilisation and recovery of non-performing loans.

The report highlights that the loss for the year under review was due to the impairment of some legacy balances of Rs.158 million of the previous financial year.

Loan disbursement has increased from Rs.5.7 billion in 2013/14 to Rs.9.7 billion in 2014/15, while interest income recorded a considerable increase during the same period.

Deposit mobilization increased from Rs.9.2 billion to Rs.12.2 billion, an increase of 33 percent. Furthermore, loan recoveries have also increased to a record level of Rs.10.3 billion when compared with the previous year’s collection of Rs.8.6 billion.

TFC noted that these comprehensive developments have contributed to drop the gross NPL ratio of the post 2009 portfolio from 8.3 percent to 5.2 percent during the period under review.

The company stated that as a result of this positive trend, TFC’s cash flow has strengthened allowing the management to increase the monthly loan disbursement volume with a better outreach to get a steady flow of interest income to the institution in time to come.

“Continuous new strategies implemented by the management throughout the period, have been instrumental in reducing the monthly operational losses which are mainly associated with non-yielding assets inherited from the past six years.

“The new management was able to align TFC’s overall business challenges in such a way that turned around some of the non-yielding assets to yielding assets making the Company’s future more stable,” stated TFC Chairman Dr. S. H. A. M. Abeyratne.

He stressed that to maintain the momentum; a vital task has to be fulfilled by the senior management by way of investing in human resources development, introduction of new processes with new technology, and enhancement of professionalism among the employees, given the highly complex and competitive financing business environment in the country.