Commercial Bank adjudged Sri Lanka’s ‘Bank of the Year’ in 2014

Thursday, 4 December 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

As its financial year draws to a close, the Commercial Bank of Ceylon has achieved yet another milestone, being declared Sri Lanka’s ‘Bank of the Year’ by the respected UK-based The Banker magazine.

Commercial Bank Managing Director/CEO Jegan Durairatnam with the Bracken award This is the ninth Bank of the Year award presented to Commercial Bank by The Banker, the magazine which is also responsible for the annual ranking of the Top 1000 Banks of the World. The Bank of the Year award, also referred to as a Bracken is considered the Oscar of the international banking industry and is presented based on performance across diverse key indicators. The Bank of the Year award presented on 27 November at the InterContinental Hotel, Park Lane, London, is the second major international banking award won by Commercial Bank in the past three months. In September, the bank was adjudged ‘The Strongest Bank in Sri Lanka in 2014’ by The Asian Banker magazine. Commercial Bank is also the only Sri Lankan bank to be ranked in the world’s Top 1,000 Banks for four consecutive years. The comprehensive evaluation for the Bank of the Year awards named after Brendan Bracken, the founding editor of ‘The Banker’ in 1926 and Chairman of the Financial Times from 1945 to 1958, covers qualitative achievements, strategic initiatives, financial results, growth rates and performance data as well as other aspects such as technology and key strategic developments. The award was received by Commercial Bank’s Managing Director Jegan Durairatnam at a gala event attended by VIP guests and leading personalities in the international banking industry. Commenting on the award, Durairatnam said: “We believe that the emphasis we place on achieving performance excellence while maintaining an equitable balance between stakeholder expectations and our responsibilities to the community is the basis for many of the international accolades that come our way. As always, they are a tribute to the entire team of Commercial Bank and are a reaffirmation of the value of focusing on best practices and banking fundamentals.” Other Bank of the Year award winners ranked alongside Commercial Bank in 2014 included those of the calibre of Westpac, Royal Bank of Canada, Raiffeisen Bank and Axis Bank. Besides the many international awards it won in 2014, Commercial Bank was also rated the most valuable private sector brand in the country this year. The bank operates a network of 239 branches and 605 ATMs in Sri Lanka and has won multiple awards as Sri Lanka’s best bank over several years, was adjudged one of the country’s 10 best corporate citizens by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce in 2013 and has been rated the Most Respected Bank in Sri Lanka by LMD for the past 10 years. It has also been the second Most Respected Corporate entity in the country overall for the past four years in the LMD rankings and has been rated No. 1 in Sri Lanka for Honesty in 2013 and 2014 by the magazine.