Trade Finance Association of Bankers celebrates 25th anniversary

Representing the Principal Sponsor of the event, Ifinity Managing Director Vajira Wijesinghe (fourth from right), handing over the sponsorship cheque to TFAB President Lawrian Somanader (fifth from left). Also present (from left): TFAB Assistant Treasurer Kanchana Liyanage, Assistant Secretary Indika Liyanage, Social Committee Chairman Halin Hettigoda, Secretary General Rajaratnam Naguleswaran, Ifinity Wise Operations Head Ushani Madawala, VP Business Applications Prabath Gamage, and Director Business and Operations Jithendra Weerasekera

The Trade Finance Association of Bankers (TFAB) will hold its 25th anniversary celebrations on 3 December at the Hilton Colombo. 

Central Bank of Sri Lanka Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe will grace the occasion as the Chief Guest and deliver the keynote address. The theme of this year’s event is ‘Navigating International Trade through Economic Turbulence’. The event will also feature speeches by the Guest of Honour, Finastra Head of Corporate Banking Matthieu Andrieu and TFAB President Lawrian Somanadar.

TFAB was established in 1997 to educate bankers who specialise in trade finance and foster a sense of goodwill within this community. At the time of its launch, there was no centralised organisation for trade finance bankers in Sri Lanka. TFAB’s main functions are trade finance banking education and skills development, promotion of consistent trade finance practices, facilitating the exchange views among bankers, and coordination with regulatory authorities. Furthermore, TFAB publishes periodical journals and newsletters.

Today, TFAB has over 1,000 members. All commercial banks including state banks are members in this association. TFAB held a series of events throughout the year, beginning with a religious ceremony, taking the members on an on-site visit to the port, and a cricket six a side tournament. The upcoming celebrations will be this year’s highlight where Sri Lanka’s senior banking fraternity will be in attendance. Some key agenda items include the annual awards ceremony trade quiz and the recognition of past presidents and writers of the 25th anniversary volume. Ifinity, a technology enabler for seamless and invisible banking servicers, and Finastra, a global financial services software and cloud services provider, will be the principal sponsor of the event.