HNB partners 85th Battle of the Saints

HNB Jonathan Alles MD/CEO, flanked by the Principals of St. Joseph’s and St. Peter’s Colleges, the captains of the Josephian and Peterite cricket teams, organising committee plus senior management of HNB

HNB, one Sri Lanka’s leading private sector banks, will power the 85th Battle of the Saints annual cricket encounter between St. Joseph’s College and St. Peter’s College, as the platinum sponsor. Schoolboys and ‘old boys’ will descend on the grounds of P. Saravanamuttu Stadium – Oval grounds, on 1 and 2 March to watch the boys from Colombo’s two leading catholic schools display an exciting game of cricket.

The sponsorship cheque was handed over to the two Principals, Rev. Fr. Trevor Martin of St. Peter’s College and Rev. Fr. Travis Gabriel of St. Joseph’s College, by HNB Managing Director and Chief Executive Jonathan Alles. 

Expressing his thoughts on the partnership with the Joe-Pete big match, Alles said: “The bank is delighted to extend this sponsorship to one of the most anticipated sporting events in the annual cricket season and supports the values of great sportsmanship, tradition and pageantry which is so much a part of this fixture and undoubtedly is etched in every student’s and old boy’s minds.”  

The Josephians will be led by Sri Lanka youth player and off-spin bowler Ashain Daniel, while the boys from Bambalapitiya will be under the captaincy of all-rounder Ranmith Jayasena. In the past 84 encounters between these two prestigious schools, St Joseph’s have won the trophy 12 times while St. Peter’s have bagged the trophy 10 times.

HNB’s relationship with both the schools – St. Peter’s and St Joseph’s, stretches back in time to when they opened one of their first Student Savings Units at St. Peter’s two decades ago. Since then, successive generations of students in both schools have benefitted from their HNB accounts, not only in establishing the savings habit from a young age but also for higher and tertiary education – laying the foundations for a stable and secure future.  

The bank has also deepened its engagement with both schools, with a particular focus on introducing new technology-enabled banking services to students and staff in order to help prepare them for the life in an increasingly technologically oriented world. 

HNB’s suite of electronic banking solutions include Payee Partnership and easy-to-use POS devices that hassle free collections together with HNB PAYFAST – a convenient and reliable platform for payment of salaries, EPF, ETF and any other additional payments as needed.  

Additionally, HNB has also provided other special facilities to cover the entire school community including teachers, students, and related parties as their preferred banking partner.

Operating across 251 customer centres across the country, HNB stands as Sri Lanka’s leading bank, having been recognised by several renowned international and local institutions for excellence in diverse fields. In 2018, HNB was recognised by the prestigious ‘Asian Banker Magazine’ as the ‘Best Retail Bank in Sri Lanka’ for the 10th time.