Thursday Nov 28, 2024
Thursday Nov 28, 2024
Friday, 6 March 2015 01:04 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
This annual event will be attended by the elite of the banking and financial institutions, professionals, bankers and the other invitees. The commemoration ceremony will also be addressed by Guest of Honour Dr. N.E.H. Sanderatne PhD, a Visiting Senior Fellow, University of Peradeniya and former Chairman of Bank of Ceylon and NDB, the President of the Association of Professional Bankers Piyal D. Hennayake, DGM Services at HNB, and Nathan Sivagananathan, Chairman of the K. Sivagananathan Memorial Trust and Chief Growth Officer MAS Holdings.
This year over 45 students who have obtained the highest marks in all three languages in the Diploma in Banking and Finance examination in March and September 2014 conducted by the Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka (IBSL) will be awarded cash prizes and certificates.
As a result of the banking examinations conducted by the Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka which is affiliated to IFS School of Finance, UK, formerly known as the Chartered Institute of Bankers London, open to the bankers and public, tremendous enthusiasm has been shown not only by bankers but by those who aspire for a career in banking and finance.
Objectives
The joint event conducted by APB and KSMT for past 12 years has met the objectives of both institutions. APB, a premier association serving the banking and financial institutions over past 25 years has achieved many of its objectives year on year.
Their primary mission is to sustain the highest standards of professionalism and integrity among bankers, to advance the public interest, to influence the achievement of the highest ethical standards and governance in banking industry, to undertake, promote and facilitate studies in the field of banking, organise and promote research in this field and to undertake studies and research projects for the government, private sector, international agencies and other institutions, plan and organise teaching and arrange training programs, lectures, seminars, workshops in the field of banking and train students and others in research methodology with the idea of promoting knowledge and awareness in subjects relevant to banking.
Assisting financially disadvantaged students
The K. Sivagananathan Memorial Trust (KSMT) is a non-profit organisation mainly dedicated to providing assistance to financially disadvantaged students pursuing higher studies in the field of banking and finance and encouraging them to excel in their examinations to achieve a higher standard to be in par with the developed countries, which was one of late K. Sivagananathan’s wishes.
Together both institutes with their common objective to serve the nation and to promote banking studies have successful achieved the common objectives.
The KSMT has distributed over 600 cash prizes and certificates since 2002 to students who excelled in the banking exams conducted by the Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka and has sponsored needy students to do the entire banking examination and also sponsored gold medal to be awarded at the Convocation of the Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka.
This year a large number of highest achievers in DBF examination hail from outstations like Mirigama, Kandy, Chunnakam, Vavuniya, Jaffna, Moneragala, Bandarawela, Bandaragama, Beliatta, Ambalantota, Nattandiya, Karaveddy, Nattaranpota, Imbulgoda, Batticaloa, Amparai, Manipay, Lunuwila, Narammala, Pelmadulla, Udugampola, Mahiyanganaya, Chanknai, Mathugama, Neervely, Meegoda, etc. Late K. Sivagananathan who was keep to open the IBSL examinations not only to bankers but also to public would be proud to see the excellent results shown by the non-bankers and students from outstation.
The late K. Sivagananathan’s involvement with the IBSL contributed to its association with the Chartered Institute of Bankers (CIB) London, to raise the professional standards of bankers in Sri Lanka which will no doubt contribute in a big way for bankers to run their banks and branches to keep up with globalisation of the financial sector. The KSMT has also donated books on banking and finance to the IBSL Library.
Relief assistance
In the past years, it has not only provided financial assistance for education in banking and finance but it has also supported other charity projects such as the distribution of books to schools in the Nawalapitiya area as well as providing supplies to the Hindu College in Ratmalana and the Missionaries of Charity, Moratuwa (an orphanage run by the Mother Theresa Sisters’ Home).
It has also provided relief assistance to those affected by the tsunami and re-constructed a school destroyed by the tsunami in the Eastern Province. Six schools in the Southern and Eastern Provinces were provided with the necessary infrastructure and equipment for their laboratories as well as libraries and sports gear.
In June 2007, a pre-school was constructed in Bakmitiyawa in the Ampara District and its students were provided with books, sports items and uniforms. In 2009, supported the IDP camp in Vavuniya and Abhinavarama Maha Viharaya, Kataragama for construction of an Avukana Buddha Statue. Annually donations were made to the Nutritional Fund of Bowalawatte Sithumina Vidyalaya, Kandy.
In 2012 a donation of 4,000 exercise books was made to Kataragama Abhinavarama Daham Pasala while another donation was made to The Cerebral Palsy Lanka Foundation. In 2013 a donation of 10 bikes were made to the Foundation of Goodness for distribution for the displaced families including young widowed women and students from the remote interior villages who were desperate to rebuild their lives. In 2014 a donation was made to the School Development Society of J/Vigneswara College, Karaveddy.
K. Sivagananathan
The K. Sivaganananathan Memorial Trust was formed on 7 August 2002 to fulfil one of the last wishes of the late Sivagananathan, which was to assist needy students pursuing careers in the field of banking and finance. Sivagananathan rose from the ranks to the level of senior Deputy General Manager of Bank of Ceylon, by sheer determination, dedication, perseverance and hard work.
He held many directorships and was chairman of many institutes. He became a Fellow of the Institute of Bankers (London) in 1961. In a letter found after his death, he had made a request to form a trust to grant assistance to educate needy students in banking/finance.
After his retirement from Bank of Ceylon, he served as CEO at Janashakthi Insurance Company PLC and thereafter, as a Consultant to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka on an invitation by the then Governor Deshamanya A.S. Jayawardena, up to the time of his untimely death. He was also founder President of Rotary club of Colombo Central.
Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees of the K. Sivagananathan Memorial Trust consist of eminent bankers, educationists, top mercantile executives and businessmen. Following are the Trustees: Deshamanya A.S. Jayawardena, former Governor, Central Bank of Sri Lanka and former Secretary to the Ministry of Finance and present Chairman of Bartleet Trans-Capital Ltd.; Dr. N.E.H. Sanderatne, Visiting Senior Fellow, University of Peradeniya; D.M. Gunasekera, General Manager, Bank of Ceylon; Rohini Nanayakkara, former General Manager of Bank of Ceylon and present Chairperson of LOLC Group of Companies, the Director General, Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka; Pius Joseph, Managing Director Joseph & Company; Dr. Arul Sivagananathan, Managing Director Hayleys Industrial Solutions and Head of Hayleys Engineering, Power and Energy sector; and Nathan Sivagananathan, Chief Growth Officer MAS Holdings is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of KSMT (www.kstrust.lk).
Promoting online education
The trust also plans to promote online education through web-enabled studies for rural students and will have articles on banking and links to various sites for students to learn the latest trends in the banking world. All these will help the students to excel in their studies and to raise the professional standard of bankers on par with international standards.
The Trustees have ambitious plans in the future to promote banking studies by way of conducting classes, seminars, workshops, revision classes especially in outstations and facilitating distant learning to those in rural areas, issuing books, journals, scholarships, etc. Special emphasis will be laid on students to have access to latest development taking place in the advanced countries. In the year 2012 the trust also organised an award function in the north for students who couldn’t attend the K Sivagananathan Memorial Oration and Award Ceremony in Colombo.
