Nalani heads Association of Professional Bankers

The Association of Professional Bankers of Sri Lanka (APBSL) at its 22nd Annual General Meeting held on 25 February, 2011, elected its new Council for the year 2011/2012.

W.A. Nalani, Senior Deputy General Manager (Corporate & Offshore Banking) at Bank of Ceylon has been elected as the new President and H.M. Hennayake Bandara, General Manager/CEO, National Savings Bank, as the Senior Vice President.

W.A. Nalani, succeeds Dimantha N. Seneviratne, immediate past president of the Association of Professional Bankers – Sri Lanka.

Nalani was previously the senior vice president of the Council.   She is the senior deputy general manager of the Corporate & Offshore Banking operations of Bank of Ceylon and the second woman president of the Association of Professional Bankers of Sri Lanka, in its history of 22 years.

Nalani holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics and Bachelor of Philosophy in Economics and is a Fellow of the Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka.

She is a career banker and counts over 35 years of  banking experience in retail, corporate banking and international trade.   Presently, she serves on the Boards of Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka Plc and Regional Development Bank.

Other office bearers were all qualified professionals.  They include Aravinda Perera, deputy managing director, Sampath Bank Plc; and Piyal D. Hennayake, deputy general manager – services, Hatton National Bank Plc as vice presidents; Asanka Ranhotty, vice president, Head – Cash Management & Trade Finance Financial Institutions, Sri Lanka, of Deutsche Bank AG, as Secretary General; A.M. Thilak Abeysinghe, Senior Manager – Premises of Sampath Plc, as assistant secretary; and  Sashi Kandambi Jassim, chief manager – FCBU & Corporate Finance of Sampath Plc, as Treasurer.

Other Council Members include, Kapila Ariyaratne, general manager/chief executive officer of Seylan Bank Plc, Manohari Gunawardhena, senior vice president – Group Treasury of DFCC Bank; Nilam U. Jumat, assistant general manager – Trade Services of Hatton National Bank Plc; Deepal Abeysekera, head of Marketing and Public Affairs, People’s Bank, Head Office; Nadeesha Senaratne, head of cards and consumer assets, HSBC – Colombo; Felician Perera, assistant general manager – Recoveries, Commercial Bank of Ceylon, Plc, Angelo Fernando, country head, Public Bank.

M.R.A. Shakoor, senior dealer, Bank of Ceylon, Head Office;

Nishan Perera, manager, retail credit, National Development Bank Plc.

Association of Professional Bankers of Sri Lanka, the highest body in the banking industry, holds a membership of over 900 professional bankers and is affiliated to the Organisation of Professional Associations of Sri Lanka (OPA).

The Association of Professional Bankers as its prime objective steers the development of its members, fellow bankers and works towards improving professionalism and upgrading the standards of the banking industry.

The membership of the Association of Professional Bankers of Sri Lanka has now become a symbol of identity and recognition, across the banking industry.