HSBC appoints new Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management

HSBC has appointed Nilantha Bastian as Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management with effect from 20 June 2011. He succeeds Sarit G. Wijeyekoon, who has taken up an overseas posting as Head of Retail Risk/Personal Financial Services Audit, for HSBC Asia Pacific.

Nilantha began his banking career having joined HSBC in 1998 as Department Manager, Product Development and Marketing. He has held several senior management positions including roles in marketing, retail banking, group communications and corporate sustainability, during his career spanning 13 years at HSBC.

Nilantha was Senior Manager Business Development for Personal Financial Services, Senior Manager, Cards and Consumer Assets and Manager of HSBC’s Card Centre and was responsible for managing and steering the growth of the credit cards and consumer assets business.

He was also instrumental in setting up key departments such as Direct Sales and Marketing and Product Development and launching a multitude of products and services, in addition to playing a pivotal role in the launch of the Bank’s debit cards and the first CHIP enabled credit card technology in Sri Lanka.

Prior to taking on his current role, Nilantha was Head of Marketing, Group Communications and Corporate Sustainability at HSBC and a member of the Bank’s Executive Committee.

Nilantha had his education at Royal College Colombo and is a graduate of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK and a Diplomate of the Marketing Confederation of Australia, amongst others. He is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK, Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing, and a past Chairman of the Visa Executive Committee (VEC) in Sri Lanka.

Re-entering his forte of retail banking, Nilantha will lead the bank’s retail business and continue its growth trajectory in Sri Lanka.