Commercial Bank ranked most valuable private sector brand in Sri Lanka

Thursday, 10 April 2014 01:42 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has been ranked the third most valuable brand in Sri Lanka in the 2014 rankings compiled by Brand Finance Lanka and published in the LMD Brands Annual for the year. Moving up two places from last year to become the highest ranked private sector brand on this prestigious list amongst all corporate brands in the country, Sri Lanka’s largest private bank has been assigned a brand value of Rs 22.32 billion through an independent analysis by Brand Finance. The Bank has been rated AAA- by Brand Finance Lanka and recorded the highest growth of 47% over 2013 among the top companies listed in the rankings.

In its overview of the latest ranking of Sri Lanka’s most valuable brands, Brand Finance notes that “Commercial Bank continues its dramatic rise in the rankings”. The financial services sector dominates the 2014 ranking, with banks accounting for Rs. 148.8 billion or 42% of the collective brand value of Rs. 348 billion. Five of the Top 10 most valuable brands in Sri Lanka are banks. “We are naturally pleased to be ranked the most valuable private sector brand in Sri Lanka, because the strength of the relationship the brand has with its stakeholders is a key measure in brand valuation,” Commercial Bank’s Managing Director/CEO Ravi Dias said. “Strong brand equity translates directly to greater customer loyalty as well as acquisition of new customers. Therefore, this ranking is an important measure of the efforts of the entire Commercial Bank team.” “By building the value of our corporate brand, the bank is now well positioned to generate long term returns for the business by focussing on value-based marketing. This encompasses multiple aspects that enable the bank to harness the brand’s value creation potential with tangible results,” Dias said. He said Commercial Bank’s brand value is based on its reputation and well-established financial stability, as well as its focus on convenience, accessibility of products and services and quality of service. The bank’s commitment to corporate social responsibility and sustainability and its affinity with the communities it serves have also contributed significantly to brand equity. The bank’s brand positioning is “for a better future.” A new thematic communications campaign was launched recently on ’personalised services to suit your needs’ under the brand positioning. Amongst the products and services heavily promoted by the bank are children’s savings products Isuru and Arunalu, leasing and personal loans, channels such as online banking, mobile banking, credit and debit cards and remittance services. In the last two years the bank launched two new products, Anagi Savings Accounts targeted for women and Achiever Current Account for executives and entrepreneurs. The bank also launched a mobile app for the convenience of its customers. The bank’s corporate brand was re-launched alongside the adoption of a new logo three years ago. This was followed by a series of initiatives country-wide to refresh the branding and visibility of branches and all touch points and activities that increased the level of direct engagement with customers at branch level. These included mega marketing activities such as a month-long Savings Fiesta, Mobile Banking Weeks, ground level activities on the bank’s remittances-related products and services and communications campaigns to promote the corporate brand. In the sphere of financial performance, the Commercial Bank ended FY 2013 as the most successful private bank in Sri Lanka, with gross income of Rs. 73.16 billion, profit before tax of Rs. 14.51 billion, profit after tax of Rs. 10.445 billion and assets of Rs. 606.607 billion. Brand Finance PLC is a leading brand valuation consultancy founded in UK and has 17 offices worldwide. The organisation has been compiling Sri Lanka’s Most Valuable Brands list for over 10 years. The only Sri Lankan bank to be listed three years consecutively among the world’s Top 1,000 Banks, Commercial Bank operates a network of 235 branches and service points and a network of 585 ATMs in Sri Lanka. The bank has won multiple awards as the country’s best bank over several years.