People’s Bank 2021 Annual Report recognised at International SAFA Awards

Tuesday, 20 December 2022 02:22 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

From left: People’s Bank Chairman Sujeewa Rajapakse, CEO/General Manager Ranjith Kodituwakku and Head of Finance Azzam A. Ahamat

Becomes only public sector bank from Sri Lanka to achieve key accolade

People’s Bank has announced that its 2021 Annual Report garnered yet another honour at the recently concluded South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA) Annual Report Awards 2022, receiving Joint Bronze in the Public Sector Bank category.

The Awards are conferred based on the criteria of improvement in transparency, accountability and governance, and are selected from entries received from eight countries in the South Asian region including India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Most notably at this year’s awards, People’s Bank was the only Public Sector Bank from Sri Lanka to be placed amongst the top three in the said category.

Commenting on the most recent Award, People’s Bank Chairman Sujeewa Rajapakse said: “We are delighted to be the only Public Sector Bank from Sri Lanka to be podiumed at this year’s awards. This attests to our commitment to excellence in integrated reporting. SAFA’s Annual Report Award competition needs no introduction – it is one which draws entries from the best in class throughout the entire South Asian region and whose judging panel consists of some of the finest minds in the space of integrated reporting across transparency, accountability and governance aspects and issues.” People’s Bank Chief Executive Officer/General Manager Ranjith Kodituwakku said: “In a time of unprecedented challenge, clear and concise communication with all stakeholders is even more crucial, with the annual report being the single most important tool to do so. People’s Bank, as a leading bank in Sri Lanka, is changing the way we communicate with our stakeholders and, over the last several years, we have been very successful in producing award-winning annual reports. We are indeed very proud of this.”

Head of Finance Azzam A. Ahamat said: “The award is self-attesting to our standing from an integrated reporting standpoint not only locally but also regionally. For our 2021 Annual Report, this is just another in a series of recent wins both locally and internationally.

We thank all our stakeholders both internal and external. Not complacent with any of our successes, we look forward to reasonably setting further benchmarks in the space of integrated reporting.” People’s Bank’s Annual Report 2021 was its seventh Integrated Annual Report and was designed under the theme “Multi-Faceted Brilliance”.

The Report provides insight into the Bank’s continuing efforts to support the country and economy during a period of unprecedented distress whilst safeguarding the interest of its stakeholders. In preparing its reports, the bank draws on concepts, principles, and guidance from the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) Framework, Consolidated Set of Global Reporting Initiatives and Guidelines, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka, Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).