HNB enhances security to global best practices with ISO 27001:2013 certification

From left: Bureau Veritas Lanka Business Development Certification and Training Executive Manesh K. Umakanthan, Bureau Veritas Lanka Head of Marketing and Sales Gayan Balachandra, Bureau Veritas Lanka General Manager Shan Nanayakkara, HNB Managing Director /CEO Jonathan Alles, HNB Chief Technology and Digital Officer Rohan Buultjens, HNB Chief Information Officer Ruwan Bakmedeniya, HNB Head of Security and Assurance Prasad Tennakoon and HNB IT Systems Security and Compliance Senior Manager Diva Devasagayam

Sri Lanka’s most digitally innovative bank HNB announced another major milestone in its technological evolution with the bolstering of its Information Systems to reach ISO 27001:2013 certification – the highest applicable standard for information security globally.

All of HNB’s information systems and protocols will be stringently maintained in accordance with global best practices, thereby ensuring customer security at highest levels.

“Information security has always been absolutely critical to the banking industry. Particularly at a time when Sri Lankans are increasingly opting-in for an increasingly digitised service array, we believe it is now vital that our industry always stay ahead of the curve.

“Given HNB’s own role leading the charge on digital innovation – including products like our new mobile wallet HNB SOLO – we felt that it is especially imperative for HNB to also align with global best practices on information security. We will maintain global IT best practices as an ISO certified IT organisation for financial information and data security,” HNB Chief Information Officer Ruwan Bakmedeniya said.

In addition to standardising processes and bolstering security, the certification will also enhance HNB’s ability to establish business process with international parties, including entities bound to adhere to the most stringent regulator environments.

He further noted that the standardisation of processes enabled by ISO 27001:2013 certification was also invaluable in establishing an even stronger organisational culture that is itself rooted firmly in security, thereby complementing the established infrastructure and protocols.

As part of its ambitious HNB Vision 2020 transformation initiative, HNB has been a major proponent of innovative digitised banking solutions and services. In addition to the launch of HNB SOLO, the bank was also the first in Asia to introduce a fitness-linked savings product – HNB FIT Savings Account – that empowers customers to save more as they exercise more.

HNB was adjudged the number one business entity among top Sri Lankan corporates by Business Today and has been receiving continuous praise for its pioneering initiatives across the entire spectrum of its operations. The bank was judged ‘Best Managed Bank in Sri Lanka’ by the prestigious Asian Banker Magazine while its Managing Director/CEO Jonathan Alles was conferred the Asian Banker’s ‘CEO Leadership Achievement’ award.

Among its several accolades, HNB was declared ‘Sri Lanka’s Best Bank’ for 2019 by Euromoney Magazine for the third time, in addition to being ranked among the World Top 1000 Banks list compiled by the prestigious UK-based Banker magazine, further strengthening its status as Sri Lanka’s pre-eminent private sector bank. Recently, HNB was recognised among the ‘Top 10 Most Admired Companies in Sri Lanka’ by the International Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). HNB’s remarkable track record of excellence secured it the first place ranking ahead of all Sri Lankan banks included in the LMD Top 100 Club – a position evaluated based on its performance over the past 25 years.