ComBank partners IT titan HCL Technologies to offer education loans to Sri Lankan students

Commercial Bank Chief Operating Officer Sanath Manatunge (centre) and HCL Technologies Lanka Resident Director Thothathri Vaikuntam exchange the agreement in the presence of (from left) HCL Technologies Lanka Manager (Corporate) Muthu Shankar Sivasubbu and General Manager (Operations) Dilan S Perera; Commercial Bank Deputy General Manager (Personal Banking) Sandra Walgama, Deputy General Manager (Marketing) Hasrath Munasinghe, and Senior Manager (Retail Products Department) Dushmantha Jayasuriya 

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has announced it is partnering with HCL Technologies Sri Lanka, the local arm of the multinational IT giant, to offer education loans with low interest rates to the latter’s trainees and employees. 

The Bank’s special loan scheme will finance the bond fee of the Early Career Training Program (ECTP) offered to new recruits by HCL Technologies, and the course fee for subsequent higher education offered via partner universities.

The Bank said it will lend to ECTP candidates and provide education loans for higher studies up to Rs. 2 million under this program.

“Supporting the advancement of IT education and building the IT knowledge base of Sri Lanka has always been one of the principal areas of emphasis in Commercial Bank’s commitments to the country,” the Bank’s Deputy General Manager (Marketing) Hasrath Munasinghe said. “We are delighted to support HCL Technologies from the inception of the company’s Sri Lanka operations because it will provide many opportunities for Sri Lankan IT professionals and students to progress in this sphere with a global giant.”

The special loans envisaged under this partnership will be available to Advanced Level qualified candidates, undergraduates, graduates, and software engineers in training and employment at HCL Technologies Lanka Ltd., according to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) entered into by the two organisations. 

Candidates following the ECTP at HCL Technologies who are eligible to apply for Commercial Bank’s special loans are to be absorbed by HCL after they complete training under the agreement. The Bank said students in this segment are entitled for a concessionary loan repayment plan during the training period on the basis that repayment of the loan will begin once they are employed.

Headquartered in India, HCL Technologies empowers global enterprises with technology solutions. It offers its services and products through three business units – IT and Business Services (ITBS), Engineering and R&D Services (ERS) and Products and Platforms (P&P). The global tech company recently launched operations in Sri Lanka with a plan to create over 1,500 new local employment opportunities for both school leavers and experienced professionals, within the first 18 months of starting its office in Colombo.  A key part of HCL’s business and development strategy in Sri Lanka will be to use the local talent pool of Sri Lanka for global assignments.

The first Sri Lankan Bank to be listed among the Top 1000 Banks of the World and the only Sri Lankan bank to be so listed for 10 years consecutively, Commercial Bank is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. The Bank, which won more than 50 international and local awards in 2019, operates a network of 268 branches and 873 ATMs in Sri Lanka. 

Commercial Bank’s overseas operations encompass Bangladesh, where the Bank operates 19 outlets; Myanmar, where it has a Representative Office in Yangon and a Microfinance company in Nay Pyi Taw; and the Maldives, where the Bank has a fully-fledged Tier I Bank with a majority stake.