ComBank wins six top honours at Asian Banking and Finance Awards 2025

From left: Commercial Bank Assistant General Manager – Finance Tharinda Jayawardana, Senior Regional Manager – Colombo Inner Sanath Perera, and Chief Manager – Sustainability, Women’s Banking and CSR Kamalini Ellawala accepting the awards won by the bank

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has reaffirmed its leadership in Sri Lanka’s banking sector with a stellar performance at the Asian Banking and Finance (ABF) Awards 2025, winning six prestigious accolades across the Retail, Wholesale, and Corporate and Investment Banking categories.

Recognising excellence, innovation, and leadership in financial services, the ABF Awards spotlights outstanding performances in Asia’s fiercely competitive banking landscape. Commercial Bank’s latest wins further strengthen its standing as a forward-thinking and impact-driven financial institution.

In the Retail Banking category, Commercial Bank was crowned ‘Private Bank of the Year – Sri Lanka’ and ‘SME Bank of the Year – Sri Lanka.’ Under Wholesale Banking, the bank was honoured with the titles of ‘Sri Lanka Domestic ESG Program of the Year’ and ‘Sri Lanka Domestic Trade Finance Bank of the Year.’ In the Corporate and Investment Banking category, the bank secured the accolades for ‘Debt Deal of the Year – Sri Lanka’ and ‘Equity Deal of the Year – Sri Lanka.’

Winning the ‘Private Bank of the Year’ award follows an exceptional 2024, in which the bank led its peers across all key financial performance indicators. Profit Before Tax surged by 199.7% to Rs. 95.53 billion, while Profit After Tax rose by 164.3% to Rs. 54.07 billion. Return on Equity improved to 22.06%, reflecting superior shareholder value creation.

Total assets expanded by 8.1% to Rs. 2.79 trillion, net loans and advances grew by 17.5% to Rs. 1.38 trillion – the highest credit growth among private sector banks – and deposits increased to Rs. 2.23 trillion. Asset quality saw marked improvement, with the impaired loans (stage 3) ratio dropping from 5.85% to 2.76%, even as the bank enhanced risk coverage.

The bank’s Liquidity Coverage Ratio stood at an impressive 454.36% and the Total Capital Ratio rose to 18.14%, ensuring a robust financial buffer. Commercial Bank also remained the digital banking leader among Sri Lanka’s private banks, with over 1.5 million digital users, while its Current and Savings Account (CASA) ratio of 38.07% reflected a strong base of low-cost funds.

The ‘SME Bank of the Year’ title is further endorsement of Commercial Bank’s pivotal role in supporting the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector. According to the Finance Ministry’s 2023 Annual Report, the bank was the largest lender to SMEs for the fourth consecutive year, disbursing Rs. 231.6 billion or 32.8% of the total Rs. 704 billion lent by all commercial and specialised banks. While official statistics for 2024 are still pending, the dank said it believes it continues to lead this vital sector, maintaining its position as the most trusted financial partner for SMEs across the country.

The accolade for ‘Sri Lanka Domestic ESG Program of the Year’ acknowledges Commercial Bank’s pioneering role in sustainable banking. The bank has consistently set the benchmark for environmental responsibility and social inclusivity in the local financial services industry. The first Sri Lankan bank to achieve full carbon neutrality, Commercial Bank implemented a Social and Environmental Management System (SEMS) as early as 2010 – well ahead of regulatory requirements. It was also the first local bank to endorse the UN Global Compact’s 10 Principles and remains the only financial institution on its Steering Committee.

Among its other sustainability milestones, Commercial Bank was one of the first banks in Sri Lanka to obtain a Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Certificate and launched the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)-endorsed ‘Flash’ Digital Banking App, enabling customers to measure the environmental impact of their spending. The bank is a core member of the Sustainable Banking Initiative and a founding member of the Business and Biodiversity Platform in Sri Lanka. It has also committed to planting 100,000 trees annually as part of its environmental stewardship program.

In the area of trade finance, Commercial Bank was recognised as ‘Sri Lanka Domestic Trade Finance Bank of the Year’ considering its commanding 21.2% share of the export market and 14.26% of the import market in 2024 – a result of its strategic, data-driven approach. Innovations such as ‘ComBank TradeLink’ – a state-of-the-art digital platform for trade finance – have revolutionised how importers and exporters manage transactions. The ‘ComBank Trade Club,’ an invitation-only platform, connects Sri Lankan businesses with buyers and suppliers in over 40 countries, enabling high-value global partnerships.

The bank also launched ComBank LEAP | GlobalLinker, a first-of-its-kind digital business networking platform in Sri Lanka’s banking sector, to support SMEs in international trade. Developed with the Industrial Development Board and powered by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the platform is designed to foster cross-border growth for small businesses.

The award for ‘Debt Deal of the Year – Sri Lanka’ was presented in recognition of the Rs. 20 billion raised through a Basel III compliant listed debenture issue by the bank’s Investment Banking Unit in July 2024. This transaction was not only the largest public market issuance of listed debt instruments in Sri Lanka that year but also ranks among the largest in the history of the Colombo Stock Exchange.