Union Bank appoints new Deputy Chief; ex-People’s Bank Senior DGM Ibrahim joins Board

Deputy Chairman Trevine Fernandopulle

 Independent Non-Executive Director 

A.S. Ibrahim

The Board of Directors of Union Bank announced the appointment of Trevine Fernandopulle as the new Deputy Chairman with effect from 30 August.

The Board also announced the retirement of the current Deputy Chairman Sabry Ghouse from his services on the Board from 29 August, upon completion of his nine-year service period as per the corporate governance directions issued by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

It further announced the appointment of A.S. Ibrahim as an Independent, Non-Executive Director to the Union Bank Board with effect from 15 August.

The Deputy Chairman designate, Trevine Fernandopulle has served the Union Bank Board since 2017 as an Independent, Non-executive Director and he also serves on a number of Board committees of the bank, providing astute counsel and guidance to the bank’s management in driving its operations. He is a veteran banker with over 40 years’ experience in the financial services sector.

Prior to joining the Union Bank Board, he served as the Group Chief Risk Officer/Executive Vice President – Risk of the DFCC Group and as the Chief Risk Officer at Bank of Ceylon. He was also the Deputy Chief Executive Officer (DCEO) of HSBC Sri Lanka where he served for 30 years and acquired wide knowledge and exposure to international banking and risk management specialisms; having provided leadership to numerous functions including risk management, foreign exchange and treasury, international trade, corporate banking and retail operations. 

Fernandopulle is the Chairman of AMW Capital Leasing and Finance PLC (an Al Futtaim Group Dubai

owned company) and the Board of Trustees of Joseph Frazer Memorial Hospital. He also serves on the

Board of Continental Insurance Lanka Ltd., Enterprise Ceylon Capital (Pvt) Ltd., and National Insurance Trust Fund. He is a Past President of Chartered Institute of Bankers (Sri Lanka Branch) and, a Founder Member/past Vice President of the Association of Banking Risk Professionals of Sri Lanka. 

Fernandopulle holds a BSc. (Mathematics) from Imperial College, University of London (UOL), an MSc (Statistics) from the London School of Economics, UOL and is also an Associate/Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, London.   

The newly-appointed Board member A. S. Ibrahim has over 37 years of banking experience primarily in the areas of corporate banking, treasury management and risk management. He served as the Chief Executive Officer of People’s Leasing & Finance PLC from July 2017 to November 2020. 

Ibrahim has held very senior positions both locally and internationally including, Senior Deputy General Manager, Wholesale Banking and Senior Deputy General Manager, Risk Management of People’s Bank, Deputy General Manager, Head of Treasury, Head of Corporate Banking and Recoveries, Chief Risk Officer and Chief Credit Officer of Hatton National Bank PLC and Head of Credit and GSAM of Standard Chartered Bank. 

Ibrahim was a Director of People’s Insurance PLC, People’s Merchant Finance PLC, People’s Leasing Fleet Management Ltd., People’s Leasing Havelock Properties Ltd., People’s Micro-Commerce Ltd., People’s Leasing Property Development Ltd. and Lankan Alliance Finance Ltd. in Bangladesh and currently serves on the Board of Fintrex Finance Ltd. He holds an Honours Degree (BSc) from the University of Colombo and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers – UK (FCIB).

The appointments further consolidate the strength of the Union Bank Board and will add immense value and distinction to the strategic direction of the bank. The Board also expressed its sincere thanks and gratitude to Sabry Ghouse, the retiring Deputy Chairman, for his valuable contribution to the bank over the years.