News & market updates

Free Lawyers Association alleges $2.5m stolen in a Treasury cyber heist was transferred to a Mish Global LLC account at TD Bank USA and has asked President Dissanayake to appoint a Parliamentary Select Committee to probe the matter. The group also flagged discrepancies in loss figures and alleged other irregularities, including an alleged Rs.13.2bn fraud involving National Development Bank.

Colombo market closed flat as the ASPI fell 0.02% to 22,377.29 after an early peak at 22,563.09, while the S&P SL20 rose 0.03% to 6,221.32 on turnover of Rs. 3.85bn. Foreigners were net buyers (Rs. 427.1m); top contributors were JKH, HAYL, DOCK, BREW and BIL, with CARG, CINS, SAMP, NDB and CFIN weighing on the index.

Commercial Bank (COMB.N0000) now lets Premium/Platinum credit and Elite debit cardholders convert Max Loyalty Rewards points into airline miles with SriLankan Airlines and other carriers at a promotional rate of 6 points = 1 FlySmiLes mile through 31 Dec 2026, via its existing digital platform.

NDB Wealth Management Ltd. (part of the NDB Capital Group) held its Annual Sales Excellence Awards Night 2025 at Cinnamon Life Colombo to recognise top-performing sales teams and partners, highlighting its growth and partnership with AIA Insurance Lanka.

National Development Bank PLC suffered an internal Rs. 13.2 billion fraud that went undetected, prompting a parliamentary probe that blamed Central Bank oversight failures and drew IMF demands for regulatory and AML/CFT reforms. The Central Bank has retained Deloitte India for a forensic audit with an interim report due in two weeks and a final report by July 18.

A Deloitte forensic audit is probing a Rs. 13.2 billion fraud at National Development Bank (NDB); an interim report is due next week and the final report on 18 July. CBSL says NDB still meets capital and liquidity requirements while supervision is under scrutiny.

Colombo Stock Exchange closed down as the ASPI fell 0.89% (191.45 points) to 21,270.02. Bank stocks led declines with DFCC, Commercial Bank and National Development Bank among top negatives, while Ambeon, Melstacorp and Asiri gained; Asia Asset Finance filed a rights issue to raise Rs1.5bn.

Colombo stocks recovered after the CBSL hiked policy rates by 100bps, with the ASPI up 0.11% at 22,199.23 and turnover around Rs.1.86bn. DIAL, CCS, BREW, CARS and NDB were top positive contributors; VLL saw net foreign buying while AAIC saw net foreign selling and Food & Beverage led turnover.

Colombo market closed down 0.85% at 22,175.14 after the CBSL raised the policy rate by 100bps and amid heightened Middle East tensions. Foreign investors were net sellers of over Rs.3bn, turnover was Rs.4.93bn with AAIC crossings accounting for about Rs.3.1bn.

Colombo Stock Exchange closed higher as the ASPI rose 0.54% to 22,294.71 and the S&P SL20 gained 0.61%. Top contributors included Dialog Axiata, Ceylon Cold Stores, NDB and Bairaha Farms while Hemas, Lion Brewery and Sampath Bank lagged; Jetwing Symphony declared a final dividend of Rs0.50 and closed at Rs14.30 (+2.88%).

Verité Research found the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) discloses less information than listed firms and banks, warning this weak transparency endangers private-sector savings; the brief cites a Rs 13.2 billion fraud at National Development Bank PLC, noting the EPF holds about 9.46–9.50% of NDB equity.

Sri Lankan rupee weakened further, with commercial bank TT rates at Rs. 332.09/342.70 and spot trading around Rs. 329.25–330.25, extending depreciation amid strong dollar demand, higher fuel import costs and Middle East tensions.

Colombo market closed marginally lower, with the ASPI down 0.07% at 22,298.07 while foreign investors were net buyers with inflows of over Rs.50 million. JKH.N0000, RICH.N0000, CIC.N0000, SAMP.N0000 and NDB.N0000 were among the top negative contributors; capital goods led turnover and banking plus food, beverage & tobacco made up 27% of turnover.

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce will host the Sri Lanka Climate Summit 2026 on 9 June 2026 at Taj Samudra, shifting focus to implementation, technical readiness and climate-linked finance. Platinum sponsors include Commercial Bank and Dilmah Tea; strategic sponsors include Nestlé Lanka, Cargills and Colombo Stock Exchange.

NDB Investment Bank (part of NDB Group) appointed Kaushini Laksumanage as Deputy CEO, Eshani Thenuwara as Head of Debt Capital Markets and Sujani Perera as Senior VP, Corporate Advisory to strengthen leadership and drive growth and market expansion.

National Development Bank is facing allegations of a Rs. 13.2 billion fraud, prompting scrutiny of its audits, governance and supervisory oversight. A shareholder has filed derivative proceedings and commentators are calling for action from auditing and oversight bodies.

National Development Bank PLC said the Commercial High Court has ordered the petitioner to serve notice on the bank, its board and external auditors EY in a derivative action alleging an internal fraud causing about Rs.13.2 billion; the matter is returnable 26 May.

Colombo Chief Magistrate ordered the CID to arrest senior National Development Bank PLC officials accused of aiding an alleged Rs.13.2 billion misappropriation from NDB’s general ledger and to seize audit reports and probe whether CBSL recommendations were suppressed. Investigators say 900 suspicious accounts were identified and no audit of the ledger has been done since 2022.

National Development Bank (NDB) disclosed an internal fraud of Rs.13.2 billion; the CBSL says the bank remains within capital and liquidity requirements and depositors are unaffected while investigations and audits continue.

Colombo bourse slipped below 23,000 as the ASPI fell 0.41% to 22,920.32 with turnover over Rs.2.8bn and net foreign outflows of Rs.29.5m. Market weakness was blamed on Middle East tensions and weaker Q1 banking earnings; CINS, MELS, BUKI, NDB and DFCC were key negative contributors.

Colombo Stock Exchange was slightly higher midday Thursday — ASPI +0.04% (22,930) and S&P SL20 +0.11% (6,276). Top gainers included John Keells, Alumex, RIL Property and Lion Brewery while Sampath, Vallibel One, Hayleys and Malwatte fell; NDB reported a High Court order in a derivative action and Harischandra appointed four board members.

National Development Bank (NDB) reported a misappropriation of 13.2 billion rupees, and Sri Lanka’s Central Bank said it checked all banks for similar frauds. The Central Bank reported no similar incidents at other banks.

Colombo Stock Exchange fell, with the ASPI down 0.41% (95 points) to 22,920 and the S&P SL20 down 0.40% to 6,269. Banking stocks saw profit taking while top movers included Nawaloka Hospitals (+8.44%), LOLC (+0.83%) and Seylan Bank (+1.65%), and Ceylon Tobacco declared a first interim dividend of Rs.32.40.

National Development Bank said a minority shareholder filed a derivative action against the bank, its external auditors Ernst & Young and partners in the Commercial High Court of the Western Province, and the court reserved its order for May 13, 2026. NDB shares were trading down 0.21% at Rs.117.50.

Rayynor Silva increased his stake in Seylan Bank to 10% from 6% with a Rs.1.2 billion purchase (12 million shares); National Development Bank sold the 8.72% stake it held in Seylan.

Phantom Investments bought 26,631,495 Seylan Bank shares from NDB at LKR 104 per share, taking its Seylan stake to the maximum limit. NDB said it was exiting a non-strategic investment; NDB shares closed down 0.63% and Seylan Bank shares closed up 0.24%.

NDB Bank sold its entire 8.72% stake in Seylan Bank — 26,631,495 shares at Rs.104 each — for Rs.2.76 billion on 11 May 2026; the buyer was not disclosed.