Tag: bank of maldives

Bank of Maldives issues email scam warning to customers

Bank of Maldives (BML) has urged customers to avoid sending personal details such as bank card or account numbers via email after issuing a warning about fake messages being sent in the company’s name.

BML has said it received information of a phishing scam where fraudulent emails under the company’s name were being sent from the address ‘[email protected]’ asking clients to verify their accounts online.

“We assure that the mentioned email is not related to Bank of Maldives in any way and would like to inform all customers not to respond to such emails,” the company stated.

“If your confidential information is obtained in any such manner, this information can then be used fraudulently, as such we remind all customers of the importance of ensuring the security and confidentiality of your accounts, card information and access codes”, BML added.

The company stated that it would never request customers disclose confidential information about their accounts via email or SMS.  BML said that customers should only enter their account data after accessing the company’s official website by typing ‘www.bankofmaldives.com.mv’ into their browser.

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BML chief auditor dies during air travel

Bank of Maldives (BML) Chief Internal Auditor and Chief Compliance Officer Lucian Jayakody has died while travelling on an aircraft from Dubai to Canada, according to local media.

Jayakody, a Sri Lankan national who has been working with BML since 2006, had 25 years experience in the finance sector and was reported by Sun Online to also be a member of BML’s Corporate Management Team and Executive Committee.

BML Managing Director and chief Executive Officer Peter Horton told local media today that Jayakody’s passing would be a huge loss for the bank.

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Maldives banks revising home finance to cater to emerging real estate demand

Two banking groups operating in the Maldives have announced the launch of new home financing mechanisms they have said will cater for predicted growth in the country’s real estate sector.

Both the Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB) and Bank of Maldives (BML) have launched new home finance packages in recent weeks to try and cater for a perceived emerging demand amongst local buyers.

MIB on Tuesday (February 5) officially launched a new mechanism for home financing based on the Islamic principle of “Diminishing Musharaka”.

A spokesperson for MIB explained that the principle required the formation of a partnership between itself and an individual customer or institution to jointly buy a property.

Once acquired, eligible customers enter an agreement with the bank to divide shares in the property into units.  These units must must then be periodically purchased by the client until ownership is fully transferred from MIB.

Properties covered by the financing program must be fully constructed and not more than 10 years old, while also found to have been kept in good condition in accordance to standards outlined by the bank.

The maximum financing available under the scheme was 80 percent of a property’s total purchase price, the bank added.  The maximum tenure of the loan – the time by which the customer is required to have fully paid back the financing to MIB – is 20 years.

According to the company, individual customers looking to make use of the finance scheme must be 21 years of age or above, while institutions must be registered in accordance to local laws.

Prior to the MIB launch, state-owned BML also announced a new home finance package for its customers that it claims offers more favourable loan conditions for the purchase or refinancing of properties specifically in the capital Male’ or the nearby island of Hulhumale’.

“Recently the Maldives has seen a rise in real estate business and this sector is expected to grow in coming years. To cater for this demand, BML launched a competitive home loan product,” a spokesperson for the company has claimed.

Despite being one of the country’s longest-serving providers of home finance, BML has claimed that its revised loan package was more attractive to local buyers, increasing the repayment period to 15 years from the previous 10.

The company added that the interest rate for the loan had also been cut to 11 percent, a .75 percentage point reduction on its previous housing finance package.  Meanwhile, customer equity has also been cut to 20 percent from 30 percent previously, the company added.

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ACC to investigate two subsidiary companies registered under BML

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) had said it will investigate two subsidiary companies registered under Bank of Maldives (BML).

ACC President Hassan Luthfy told local media that BML has been notified to halt operations of both the BML Properties Limited and BML Investment Limited.

Luthfy said the company has at present failed to provide documents on the two subsidiaries that it had requested, local media reported.

“We have been informed of problems related to the two companies through the media, and investigations are under way,” he was quoted as saying.

“Complaints include the issue of the chairman holding shares in the company, and the issue of efforts to manage mortgaged property instead of selling them as ordered by the court. Some people have also complained saying that their mortgages have been sold, and that their cases were not dealt with in the same manner.”

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Bank of Maldives opens new branch

The Bank of Maldives Plc Ltd (BML) opened a new branch in Male’ at the ground floor of the STO trade centre to provide cash withdrawal and deposit services.

The new branch or BML Lite was opened by Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) Governor Dr Fazeel Najeeb at a ceremony on Thursday.

The new branch is an addition to the existing three branches in Male’.

“Two self-service machines are available for cash and cheque deposits at this branch. The machine is of the most popular brands used by the banks worldwide. The machine is highly secure, easy to use and has the capacity to accept up to 40 cheques at a time. Cash deposits should be made in a sealed envelope and the machine can accept up to 40 notes at a time,” according to BML.

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STO obtains US$32 million loan facility for construction of five-star hotel in Hulhumale’

The State Trading Organisation (STO) and Export-Import (EXIM) Bank of Thailand co-signed a US$32 million syndicated loan agreement on October 30.

Under the agreement, Exim Thailand and Bank of Maldives will jointly finance STO’s construction of the 5-star, 250-room Radisson Blu Hotel in Hulhumalé.

In a press release yesterday (November 5), STO revealed that according to the agreement 85 percent of the loan must be paid to contractors from Thailand or used to purchase construction material and equipment from Thailand.

The disbursement of the loan is to begin in 2013.

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Bank of Maldives net profit for 2012 rises to MVR 200 million

The net profit of the Bank of Maldives Plc Ltd (BML) for 2012 has reached over MVR 200 million (US$13 million) by the end of the third quarter.

In a press release yesterday, BML revealed that the net profit in the third quarter of 2012 was was MVR 161 million, MVR 121 million up from previous quarter.

“By end of Q3 operating profit reached MVR 402.7M, an increase of 30% over the same period last year. Net Interest Income increased from 333.6M in Sep 2011 to 372.8M in the 9 months to Sep 2012. This is a 12 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

“Deposits grew over MVR 306 million from the same period last year, a reflection of continued strong deposit growth. Deposit as of the end of the quarter was MVR 7.6 billion compared to MVR 7.3 billion a year ago,” the press release noted.

“Our solid financial performance and extremely strong liquidity position ensure that the bank continues to be well positioned,” said Peter Horton, MD & CEO of Bank of Maldives. “The strong growth on our net profit is a testament to the efforts of our entire team and our ability to adapt to ever-changing market conditions.”

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Bank of Maldives and MTDC at risk of trading penalties over AGM delays: Stock Exchange

The Maldives Stock Exchange (MSE) has warned that the Bank of Maldives (BML) and the Maldives Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) could both face trading restrictions over an ongoing failure to hold their respective annual general meetings (AGMs).

MSE CEO and Managing Director Hassan Manik told Minivan News that both companies had yesterday received final notices to hold their AGMs as soon as possible, after previously failing to hold the meetings no later than five months from the end of the financial year.

Both companies are now said to have agreed to announce dates within the next seven days for when the respective AGMs will be held, according to the MSE.

Manik stressed that under the MSE’s listing guidelines, failure by a company to hold an AGM within the required deadline could see it facing penalties including being suspended from trading securities.

“We have communicated to both companies to hold their AGMs as soon as possible. This is the first time we have gone public with such an announcement, but we want to make sure these companies are providing timely information,” he said. “Both have commented that they will be publicly declaring a date for their meetings within a week.”

According to Manik, while companies listed on the stock exchange regularly were unable to hold their AGMs within the required time period, he maintained that all groups listed were trying to meet the deadline outlined in its listing rules.

However, he claimed that in the case of both the MTDC and BML, it had been “a long-time” since the respective deadlines had passed, adding that both groups’ shareholders should be made aware of their operatons.

A BML spokesperson told Minivan News today that the failure to have held its AGM had been the result of delays in appointing board members  to the company.

“We have kept both the MSE and the Capital Market Development Authority (CMDA) informed about this matter, ” the spokesperson said.  “We are expecting to announce a date for our AG tomorrow.”

A spokesperson for the MTDC was not responding to calls at the time of press.

Local media has reported that the MSE has now set a deadline for both companes to hold their AGMs by October 24 or face action under its listing rules.

CMDA fines

Back in May, the MTDC, BML and the State Trading Organisation (STO) were all fined by the CMDA after they failed to publish quarterly reports and financial statements for their operations within an allotted time period.

The MTDC and the BML were each fined up to Rf30,000 for failing to publish annual financial statements as stipulated under the regulations. The statistics must be published within four months after the end of a financial year.

The companies had requested for deadline extension citing difficulties in producing the report within the given time frame, CMDA said. However the extension was not granted as the reasons provided were not acceptable, the authority claimed at the time.

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“Administrative issue” behind delayed civil service wage payments: Finance Minister

Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad has said that delays in paying wages to some state employees was the result of an “administrative issue” with the Bank of Maldives (BML) that was expected to be resolved by today.

Jihad told Minivan News that there were no issue maintaining civil servant salaries, adding that BML had been unable to credit accounts for the last few days. A BML spokesperson today responded that the company was “not aware of any such issues” concerning payments being made to accounts it held.

Meanwhile, several island councils have said they had not had any issues with providing wages to their staff.

Economic situation

The Maldives government last week said it was working on overcoming “economic difficulties” to cover several months of outstanding premium payments resulting from the Aasandha universal healthcare programme. Authorities are presently facing a 27 percent budget deficit that has already drawn concern from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Besides a crippling budget deficit, the Maldives is also facing a foreign currency shortage, plummeting investor confidence, spiraling expenditure, and a drop off in foreign aid.

Late last month the Finance Ministry also ordered all government institutions to immediately reduce their budgets by 15 percent.

However, Jihad denied that the present economic situation was adversely impacting the state’s ability to provide wages to civil servants this month.

“We are expecting crediting to occur as of today,” he said. “This is just an administrative issue with the bank.”

Both Civil Service Commission (CSC) President Mohamed Fahmy Hassan and Parliamentary Financial Committee Head Ahmed Nazim were not responding time of press.

However, a number of island councils have maintained that they have continued to receive state funding without any interruptions.

An official for the North Ari Atoll island of Maalhos’ Council Secretariat told Minivan News this afternoon that he was not aware of any issues concerning paying staff salaries, which had so far been received on time each month.

In Haa Alifu Atoll, Utheemu Island Councilor Asrar Adam said the council also had not experienced difficulties with paying wages

“We have been paying the salaries of the staffs on the last day of each month always and this month’s salary have been paid,” he said.

Island Councilor of Raa Atoll Innamaadhoo claimed that during the time of former President Mohamed Nasheed, the council was given funding for its 2012 salaries in advance – therefore ensuring it did not have any issues in paying staff.

“When our president was here everything went fine, we don’t have to worry about the salaries of 2012,” he said.

State revenue

The Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) last month published its second quarter report for 2012, detailing the majority of government revenue (with the exception of import duties).

The MIRA report highlights a 16.8 percent increase in revenue collected compared to the same period for 2011, attributable to the increase in tourism GST from 3.5 percent in 2011 to 6 percent in 2012.

Tourism land rent collected for the period was MVR 465.4 million (US$30.2 million)  – a drop of 24.9 percent that was 12.3 percent lower than expected.

Airport Service Charge revenue meanwhile fell 18.6 percent, to MVR 172 million (US$11.2 million).

Total revenue collection for the first half of the year was MVR 3.5 billion, an increase of 59.2 percent compared to the corresponding period of 2011, but 8.4 percent lower than projected.

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