136 new banks opened in Sri Lanka's post-war conflict zone

Since the end of the separatist war in Sri Lanka's Northern and Eastern provinces in May 2009, 136 new banks have been opened in the region.

The government says Sri Lanka's Central Bank has given approval to open 136 bank branches in the Northern and Eastern Provinces since the end of the decade's long war with Tamil rebels that ended last year.

The Central Bank has given permission to open 64 branches in the East and 72 in the North.

According to the Monetary Authority 59 new bank branches have been established in the two provinces since the end of the conflict.

However, only few foreign banks have shown interest in opening branches in the region, the Central Bank says. HSBC was the first foreign bank to open a branch in the region.

Among the few foreign banks operating in the two provinces are the HSBC branch in Jaffna, Habib Bank in the East and the Indian Bank branch to be opened in Jaffna.

The Central Bank points out that with the SME sector developing rapidly in the region there is a great opportunity for the banking sector in the region.

SME sector, which covers the industries such as fisheries, IT and hotels and also the agriculture, is expected to provide the opportunity for the banking businesses to grow, the Central Bank says.