HNB named one of Sri Lanka’s most valuable brands

• In the top 10 as most valuable consumer brand in Sri Lanka for 15th consecutive year 

 A strong financial performance as well as a relentless focus on customers and innovation have paid off, with HNB being ranked as one of the country’s top 10 most valuable brands by the prestigious and global Brand Finance. 

Significantly, HNB has sustained this ranking for 15 consecutive years. 

According to Brand Finance, over the last year HNB’s brand value rose 19.2% to Rs. 22.2 billion, reflecting the strong connect that brand HNB has with its business performance. Accordingly, HNB’s brand performance increased 10.3% over 2017, showing that their single-minded focus on growth by strengthening the brand has paid off. 

HNB Managing Director and Chief Executive Jonathan Alles said: “As Sri Lanka’s largest private sector bank, we are honoured to be recognised as Sri Lanka’s most valuable brand. Over the years, we have been committed to shaping the future of banking, embracing digital and embedding ourselves in the customer journey. Being recognised as one of the country’s top 10 brands spurs us on to making banking simple, smart and effortless for our customers.” 

“The significant growth in our brand value is a testament to the strides the bank has made. In recent years we have delivered strong earnings growth and are today the largest private sector bank. With our beginnings and roots in the plantation industry of then Ceylon, HNB is privileged to have played a key role in Sri Lanka’s growth story,” stated Alles. 

“We believe the time is now and Sri Lanka is poised to scale up as a financial centre. At HNB, we will continue to strengthen our brand as we help shape the future of banking in our country.” 

London-based Brand Finance is an independent brand strategy and valuation consultancy. The Top 100 Brands report is published annually and incorporates data from all listed companies. Each brand is accorded a brand rating: a benchmarking study of the strength, risk and future potential of a brand relative to its competitor set; and a brand value, which is a summary measure of the financial strength of the brand. 

Operating across 251 customer centres island-wide, HNB Plc is Sri Lanka’s largest private sector commercial bank, having been declared Bank of the Year 2017 by the prestigious British financial magazine The Banker, in recognition of its performance as the most profitable banking group and for introducing unprecedented innovations to the domestic banking industry. 

HNB was adjudged ‘Best Retail Bank 2018 in Sri Lanka’ for the 10th time while being recognised as having the ‘Best Microfinance Product 2017 in the Asia Pacific Region’. The ‘Asia Money Magazine’ awarded HNB ‘Best Bank for SME’ and the ‘Best Bank for CSR’ in the country’. 

CFA Sri Lanka bestowed HNB with a bronze award for Investor Relations while HNB’s Annual Report was adjudged to be among the top 10 integrated reports at the CMA Sri Lanka awards 2017. HNB’s leadership in technology was also recognised with the bank’s ATM network being awarded the ‘Best ATM Network of the Year’ at the Lanka Pay Technovation Awards 2017. 

Furthermore, HNB moved up the ranks to be No. 3 in the LMD Top 100 Companies and to the No. 2 position in Business Today top 30 rankings, which places HNB as the highest ranked bank in both these rankings. 

HNB is the first local bank in Sri Lanka to receive an international rating on par with the sovereign from Moody’s Investor Services while maintaining a national long-term rating of AA - (lka) from Fitch Ratings Lanka Ltd., and amongst the top 1000 banks in the world by The Banker.