Commercial Bank joins Central Bank to promote financial literacy among SMEs

Thursday, 3 May 2012 02:44 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has conducted a seminar in Thambuththegama for entrepreneurs who operate in the SME and micro enterprise sectors under a series of such events organised by the bank in collaboration with the Central Bank.

Officials from the Central Bank Regional Office – North Central Region, representatives from Commercial Bank and around 60 entrepreneurs were present at this event.

Presentations were made by representatives from the Development Credit Department of Commercial Bank and the Central Bank on aspects pertaining to banking services, savings and debt management, at this seminar.

In addition to the presentations, participants were also educated on these subjects through group discussions and individual activities.

The inaugural seminar under this programme took place at Wennappuwa. Officials from the Central Bank including M.S.K. Dharmawardena – Additional Director – Regional Development Department and Gamini Sirinandana – Training Specialist – Poverty Alleviation Micro Finance Project (PAMP), Regional Development Department, representatives from Commercial Bank and entrepreneurs, including a number of participants from areas such as Nattandiya, Kochchcikade and Dankotuwa were present at the event.

Intended to enhance financial literacy in many parts of the country, similar seminars have also been conducted in Jaffna, Kilinochchi and Vavuniya by the two organisations and have benefited more than 300 entrepreneurs to date, the Bank said.

Arrangements have been made to conduct further programs for the benefit of entrepreneurs operating in other parts of the country during this year.

Commercial bank is one the first private sector banks in the country to join forces with Central Bank in an initiative to enhance financial literacy among Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs).

“Through this union between Commercial Bank, the largest private sector bank in the country, and the Central Bank, the level of financial literacy among SMEs and Micro Enterprises, can be raised significantly, facilitating their operations,” S. Renganathan, Deputy General Manager – Personal Banking of Commercial Bank said. “These sectors have been identified for their potential to contribute significantly to the economy of the country. This programme is therefore most timely.”

“This series of seminars further extends Commercial Bank’s support to the government’s efforts to establish the foundation to fast track economic growth,” Renganathan added.

Commercial Bank is the largest private bank in Sri Lanka, and the only Sri Lankan Bank listed in the world’s Top 1,000 Banks. It operates a network of 215 service points in Sri Lanka and the country’s single largest network of 513 ATMs.

The bank has been adjudged ‘Best Bank in Sri Lanka’ for 14 consecutive years by ‘Global Finance’ Magazine and has won multiple awards as the country’s best bank from ‘The Banker,’ ‘FinanceAsia,’ ‘Euromoney’ and ‘Trade Finance’ magazines.