SANASA Development Bank wins prestigious Bronze award

At the Annual Report Awards 2011, organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka), which was held on 9 December at Water’s Edge, SANASA Development Bank won the Bronze award in the Financial Institutions sector.

SANASA Development Bank is a unique financial institution with a focus on the overall betterment of all communities in the country. The bank caters to the individual needs of people of all categories of the economy, with products and services designed to complement national development strategies.

Having competed at the Chartered Accountants’ Annual Report Awards for over six years, the bank is no stranger to the spotlight, having won recognition awards in all its years of participation. However, they consider this award an achievement for the bank, in reaching and setting the bar higher for all financial institutions in the country.

General Manager and CEO Nimal J. B. Mamaduwa said: “This award is a clear reflection of the Bank adhering to the regulatory requirements of the Central Bank.” He added that the criteria that had to be met in order to receive this accolade and all mandatory and voluntary disclosure requirements were met by the bank in every respect.

Upholding the bank’s integral values, SANASA Development Bank has maintained high ethical standards at all levels and in all its dealings with customers, stakeholders and competitors; and has, time and time again, been innovative and demand-driven in providing financial services.

Since inception, up until the year under review (2010), the bank has not only overcome challenges, but also achieved many accolades, both in the local and global arenas. SANASA Development Bank was adjudged the top Sri Lankan company and placed among the first 50 out of 641 microfinance institutions in the world in 2007 and third out of the 652 microfinance institutions in the world in 2008 by Forbes Magazine.

The bank was also 2008’s winner of the Business Excellence Award, presented by the National Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka, and adjudged the top Sri Lankan company and placed second among microfinance institutions in the world in 2009, by Mixed Market Ratings.

According to Mamaduwa, in the year ended 31 December 2010, the bank has scored satisfactorily across all key performance indicators and the results will be announced on completion of the audit.

Looking ahead into the bank’s bright future, Mamaduwa asserted that “the way forward is to look into issuing a better annual report in the following year,” adding that “our tomorrow will see a greater focus on further developing the core characteristics that define the bank”.

In conclusion he said: “The bank’s roots lie in the notion of solidarity. The approach has been collective and the target has been the upliftment of collectives.” A target the bank has clearly achieved.