Commercial Bank affirmed Best SME Bank in Sri Lanka

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has been declared the ‘Best SME Bank’ in Sri Lanka in 2016 by International Finance Magazine (IFM) of the UK, for ‘making a significant difference and adding value, and achieving the highest standards of innovation and performance’ for Small and Medium Enterprise clients. 

The award also recognises the bank’s contribution to raising the bar in the local finance industry, including in corporate social responsibility and better corporate governance, in IFM’s ‘Financial Awards’ category.

Commercial Bank Deputy General Manager – Personal Banking Sandra Walgama was in Singapore recently to accept the award at a gala ceremony at which many award winners from across the world gathered to celebrate their achievements.

“This is another remarkable achievement for Commercial Bank, and this award signifies our value addition and quality of service in the SME sector,” Walgama stated. “SMEs are significant contributors to the national economy and represent an extremely important customer segment. Winning this award encourages the bank to strive even harder to support our SME clients.”

Among the international banks recognised in different categories at this year’s IFM Awards are Standard Chartered Bank (in Bangladesh, Singapore and Vietnam); ANZ (Singapore and Vietnam); Bank of East Asia (Hong Kong); Bank Rakyat and Kenanga Investment Bank (Malaysia); Bank Alfalah (Pakistan); OCBC (Singapore); Taipei Fuban Bank and Cathay United Bank (Taiwan); Habib Bank (UK) and Maritime Bank and Saigon Commercial Bank (Vietnam).

In its announcement on the awards, IFM said the finalists undergo extensive scrutiny on the basis of innovation, growth, sustainability and their contribution towards the society among other key factors before the final award winners are announced. “Apart from recognising the key performers in the industry, the IFM Award makes a concerted effort to shine the spotlight on organisations in niche segments and those that exhibit brilliance in the unsung corners of the finance industry,” the magazine said.

It observed that “Financing for working capital and investment is crucial for the survival and growth of Small and Medium Enterprises. The development of SME banks, especially in emerging markets, has a lot of obstacles including lack of reliable markets and the difficulty of building a sound SME loan portfolio.”

Among the accolades received by Commercial Bank for excellence in the local banking sector in the month of December this year are the bank’s 10th ‘Bank of the Year’ award in London awarded by ‘The Banker’ magazine UK, while the bank’s annual report won six awards at the 52nd Annual Report Awards of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka), including the award for the Best Annual Report in the Banking Sector for the 13th time.

Commercial Bank’s other awards in 2016 include the Global Finance award for the Best Bank in Sri Lanka, the ‘Country Banking Achievement Award’ and the Platinum award for 20 years of excellence from ‘FinanceAsia’, the ‘Strongest Bank in Sri Lanka’ award from ‘Asian Banker,’ four top awards including Best Private Sector Bank in Sri Lanka at the 2016 South Asian Partnership Summit and Business Awards, the award for ‘Asia’s Best Integrated Report’ the Best Sri Lankan Bank for Sustainability Reporting, and the award for ‘Marketing Campaign of the Year’ at the 2016 CMO Asia Awards for Excellence in Branding and Marketing. Additionally, the bank was ranked Sri Lanka’s Most Respected Bank by LMD for the 12th successive year, and became the only Sri Lankan bank to be ranked among the Top 1000 banks of the world for six years consecutively by ‘The Banker.’

Commercial Bank operates a network of 253 branches and 653 ATMs in Sri Lanka. The bank’s overseas operations encompass Bangladesh, where the bank operates 18 outlets, Myanmar, where it has a Representative Office in Yangon, the Maldives, where the bank opened a fully-fledged Tier I Bank in September 2016 and Italy, where the bank launched its own money transfer service in November.