Commercial Bank declared Sri Lanka’s Bank of the Year by ‘The Banker’

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has won the global banking fraternity’s most coveted award – the ‘Bank of the Year’ – presented by The Banker of the UK, ending 2016 with the industry’s ‘Oscar’ in respect of Sri Lanka.

The celebrated award as Sri Lanka’s Bank of the Year 2016 assumes special significance as 2016 is the 90th anniversary year of The Banker, making it the longest-running international banking publication in the world. This is the 10th occasion that Commercial Bank has been adjudged Sri Lanka’s Bank of the Year by The Banker, making it the only Sri Lankan bank to achieve this feat in the history of the awards.

Commercial Bank Managing Director/CEO Jegan Durairatnam was in London to accept the award at a gala ceremony at which 400 senior bankers from across the world gathered to celebrate their achievements. “This has been a year of noteworthy achievement for Commercial Bank, and this award is a great way to cap it,” Durairatnam commented. “It has been a year of solid operational growth and overseas expansion. We have built on our momentum despite challenging conditions. Regaining The Banker’s Bank of the Year award is a fitting tribute to the passion and professionalism of the entire team of Commercial Bank.”

The Banker selects one winning bank for each of the 120 countries judged. Commenting on the 2016 awards, The Banker states that “the recognition of being named as Bank of the Year in your own country by the world’s longest-running international banking title is testament to the strong management, sound business model and prudent risk approach of your bank.”   

The magazine also observed that “as markets have begun to stabilise after the crisis, many banks have had a return to form over the past few years. Many have focused on their domestic business and some have pushed their expansion into growing markets making 2016 a good year for many banks that have implemented a robust strategy for growth.”

The comprehensive evaluation for the Bank of the Year awards named after Brendan Bracken, the founding editor of ‘The Banker’ in 1926 and Chairman of the Financial Times from 1945 to 1958, covers qualitative achievements, strategic initiatives, financial results, growth rates and performance data as well as other aspects such as technology and key strategic developments. Commercial Bank’s awards in 2016 alone include the Global Finance award for the Best Bank in Sri Lanka, the ‘Country Banking Achievement Award’ and the Platinum award for 20 years of excellence from ‘FinanceAsia,’ the ‘Strongest Bank in Sri Lanka’ award from ‘Asian Banker,’ four top awards including Best Private Sector Bank in Sri Lanka at the 2016 South Asian Partnership Summit & Business Awards, the award for ‘Asia’s Best Integrated Report’ the Best Sri Lankan Bank for Sustainability Reporting, and the award for ‘Marketing Campaign of the Year’ at the 2016 CMO Asia Awards for Excellence in Branding and Marketing. 

Additionally, the Bank was ranked Sri Lanka’s Most Respected Bank by LMD for the 12th successive year, and became the only Sri Lankan bank to be ranked among the Top 1000 banks of the world for six years consecutively by ‘The Banker.’

Commercial Bank operates a network of 253 branches and 653 ATMs in Sri Lanka. The Bank’s overseas operations encompass Bangladesh, where the Bank operates 18 outlets, Myanmar, where it has a Representative Office in Yangon, the Maldives, where the Bank opened a fully-fledged Tier I Bank in September 2016 and Italy, where the Bank launched its own money transfer service in November 2016.