CDB among Business Today Top 30 for second year

Building blocks for empowering a Smart Sri Lanka at core of business strategy

A pioneering trailblazer in the financial services industry, Citizens Development Business Finance PLC (CDB), which now stands among the Top Five Largest NBFIs in the country, added to its significant collective of accolades by being recognised within the Business Today (BT) Top 30. 

A fitting tribute to celebrate its 25th year, CDB has over the years prompted transformations in the corporate psyche of the financial services industry with its emphasis on an unbeatable formula of revolutionary innovation driven by a young dynamic team buying into a vision of financial inclusivity for a smart and sustainable Sri Lanka.

CDB gained its first nod into the prestigious BT Top 30 rankings just last year which recognizes published information by companies listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange and social considerations. This is the second consecutive year CDB has been recognised based on its performance for YE 31 March 2020.

But overcoming challenges remains integral to CDB’s success, a formula it has perfected since inception in 1995. Determination, fortitude and a strength of purpose has driven CDB to produce remarkable results by harnessing maximum potential emanating from the post war economic boom of the last decade with quantitative outcomes. Over this decade, CDB increased its profit 22 times, revenue and its deposit base nine times, saw its total assets and loan book also gain an upward trajectory 14 times and have its Earnings Per Share multiply 15 times. This is testament to a company doing things right, where stakeholder confidence has remained solid and unshaken. 

Having positioned itself as a game changer driving transformations in both the social and environmental spheres, CDB has embraced its 25th year to empower a smarter and sustainable Sri Lanka. Having empowered the aspirations of Sri Lankans across the country, MD/CEO Mahesh Nanayakkara accepts the laurels which he attributes to his highly motivated young team comprising ordinary people doing extraordinary things.  

“CDB has been recognised repeatedly for being a socially conscious environmentally responsible corporate citizen committed to financial inclusion for people of multiple demographics, diverse walks of life and businesses of all scales.  What you now see is a tapestry that has been woven over 25 years of a progressive story reflecting the passion and dedication of our team whose aspirations align on the commonality of empowering a smarter and sustainable Sri Lanka by providing access to financial services through technology enabled solutions.  We have infused a mindset of digital disruption and are now trailblazing a path of becoming a TechFin, which is the thread that binds our emphasis on people and sustainability into our core business operations.”     

Working on the equation of being a net lender to the rural economy on the formula of ‘Rural Lending – Urban Funding’, the strong building blocks of transformation, leadership, astute management and strategic vision built on a foundation of cutting edge technology has been the enabling factor for CDB’s numerous ‘firsts’. From being the first NBFI to invest in a core-banking system, to operating SLIPS, issue Visa debit cards, link up with the banking system’s ATM network, use social media networks for fund transfers and being the first ISO14064-1 carbon verified financial institution in South Asia continues that momentum of constant achievement.