CB says US $ 16mn pending from ETI Finance deal

The Central Bank yesterday said US $ 16 million from the ETI Finance (ETIF) deal is yet to be received.

The banks said US $ 54 million, out of the total US $ 75 million, has been received to ETIF, which was primarily utilized to repay 20 percent of the deposits of the company.

“A further US $ 16 million, which was delayed due to various reasons, is expected to be received by the company within the month of February 2019, as informed by the buyer,” the Central Bank said.

Meanwhile, responding to what it called misinformation, the Central Bank stressed that the selection of a party to whom the assets of ETIF were to be transferred was done by the board of directors of ETIF and the Monetary Board of the Central Bank only granted the necessary approvals from the perspective of protecting the depositors’ interests, subject to various conditions, including carrying out the transaction in compliance with all the applicable laws and regulations in the country.

The Central Bank also said the only party recommended by the ETIF board of directors to the Monetary Board was the current buyer and the Monetary Board was instrumental in increasing the initial bid of US $ 60 million to US $ 75 million.

Further, the Central Bank said all transactions pertaining to the deal were channelled through reputed banks.