ComBank honoured with 6 awards by Indian Chamber of Commerce

Commercial Bank AGM Personal Banking Mithila Shamini receiving one of the awards on behalf of the bank

• Wins ‘Best Bank in Sri Lanka’ and ‘Best Performance on Risk Management’ among Sri Lankan banks
• Bangladesh operation wins 4 awards

The Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) recently honoured the Commercial Bank of Ceylon with six prestigious awards, two in respect of Sri Lanka and four for the bank’s Bangladesh operation, joining the many international bodies that have recognised the country’s leading private sector bank with accolades this year.

The ICC recognised Commercial Bank as the ‘Best Bank in Sri Lanka’ and for ‘Best Performance on Risk Management’ among Sri Lankan banks, and presented Commercial Bank Bangladesh the awards for ‘Best Performance on Asset Quality,’ ‘Best Performance on Growth,’ ‘Best Performance on Risk Management’ and ‘Best Performance on Profitability.’ 

These awards were presented at the ICC’s Emerging Asia Banking Conclave and Awards in Goa, India in July, to recognise and reward banks in the seven countries that belong to the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) for extraordinary steps in the growth and spread of emerging Asian banking. The awards were presented on the basis of applications assessed by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC). Commercial Bank was the only Sri Lankan Bank to be honoured at the awards ceremony. 

Commenting on the recognition accorded to Commercial Bank by the Indian Chamber of Commerce, the bank’s Chief Operating Officer S. Prabagar said: “The challenges faced by banks in the BIMSTEC countries as well as the expectations of customers and regulators, are fairly similar. Being assessed by a panel of eminent banking industry personalities from the region is therefore of particular value, and we are extremely pleased to win the award for Best Bank in Sri Lanka as well as five Best Performance awards for our operations in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.” 

Focusing on the stellar role played by banks in promoting economic growth and using monetary policy as an engine of growth during the times of the pandemic and the post-pandemic war in Europe, the awards considered the best practices and innovative steps taken by banks to overcome the myriad challenges they faced in their operations. Innovation in payment systems, digital asset management, anti-money laundering, big data analytics, cyber compliance and regulatory compliance, empathy, financial health and guidance of their clientele were among the aspects assessed for the awards.

The awards jury comprised of stalwarts from the banking industry, and some of the quantitative factors considered for the awards presented to Commercial Bank included key financial indicators such as Total assets, Gross and net advances, Deposits, Total investments, Total interest earned, Profits, Operating expenses, Gross non-performing assets, Yield on investments, Liquidity coverage ratio and Capital adequacy ratio. Other aspects such as advances made towards renewable energy projects, energy efficiency improvement projects, pollution control projects, water conservation and treatment projects, waste management projects and forest regeneration projects, and CSR expenditure were also assessed.