Seylan Bank bullish on better growth on the back of strong foundation in recent years

Director and CEO Ramesh Jayasekera gestures during a media roundtable yesterday 

– Pic by Upul Abayasekara

• Points to many country and industry positives; confident of growth momentum continuing sans worsening of key risks of geopolitics and climate change
• Stresses achievement of Rs. 1 t asset base and significant growth in other performance indicators during the past 3 years
• Says Bank in a strong position to realise higher growth; forays into private banking in 2027
• Prudent provisioning, aggressive digital strategy, innovative digitally-enabled products and long-term customer relationships paying off

By Nisthar Cassim

Seylan Bank yesterday expressed a bullish outlook for both Sri Lanka and the industry, hinting at much higher growth for the Bank on the strength of the foundation laid in recent years and achievements including surpassing the Rs. 1 trillion assets mark.

“There are a lot of positives in terms of the country’s macroeconomic fundamentals, and if interest rates remain as they are, and with 4% to 5% GDP growth and private sector resilience, we are bullish about 2027 as well as SMEs, retail business and private banking,” Seylan Bank Director and CEO Ramesh Jayasekera told 

the media. 

He singled out geopolitics and climate change as key risks for many countries, including Sri Lanka, but expressed confidence that, given inherent resilience, the growth momentum will continue.

Jayasekera said Seylan will explore both organic and inorganic opportunities for higher future growth.

Despite challenging conditions, over the past three and a half years the Bank has made significant progress in tandem with the foundation laid and pillars put in place for higher yet sustainable growth in the future.

Its asset base, from around Rs. 672 billion in 2023, crossed the Rs. 1 trillion mark in September this year, thereby making Seylan the fourth private commercial bank to reach the milestone.

“This is an important step in the Bank’s growth journey and reflects the confidence customers have placed in Seylan Bank. The milestone also reflects the contribution of employees and the Bank’s continued focus on meeting the financial needs of individuals and businesses. The achievement should be viewed not simply as a balance sheet figure, but as a reflection of the Bank’s expanding scale and customer relationships,” the Seylan Director/CEO said.

With SMEs accounting for 23% of its customer base, its lending portfolio grew by 25% in 2025 and is projected to achieve an 18% increase in 2026.

During the first nine months of 2026, loans and advances recorded net growth of Rs. 89 billion to Rs. 689 billion, and customer deposits increased by Rs. 78 billion to Rs. 811 billion.

Jayasekera revealed that over 50% of its 1.6 million customer base now does its banking digitally, as opposed to 16% in 2023, reflecting growing adoption. As a prudent strategy, provisioning for Stage 3 Non-Performing Loans has been increased to 85%, as against 54% in 2023. Seylan’s capital base is also strong, with Tier 1 at 11% and Tier 2 at 15%, whilst its Liquidity Coverage Ratio is at 170%. The Bank’s Stage 3 Impaired Loans Ratio stood at 1.02%, while its Total Capital Adequacy Ratio was 15.14%.

“With the foundation laid and pillars being put in place, and with the overall strength, we see greater capacity to grow better going forward,” Jayasekera said. After-tax profit, from Rs. 4.7 billion in 2023, reached Rs. 12 billion in 2025. In the first nine months of 2026, the figure was Rs. 9.1 billion, up 9.47% year-on-year.

Seylan in recent years has pursued an aggressive digital strategy, as evidenced by the growth in customers using mobile and internet banking. Loans on FDs, Pawning top-up, personal loans within 48 hours and decisions on new loans within 72 hours are some of its digitally enabled innovative products. The Bank aspires to provide a same-day leasing facility, whilst its foray into private banking is slated for early next year, with the first unit coming up at its head office in Colombo 3 and later in Colombo 7.

“We have been focusing on long-term relationship building as opposed to being a mere transactional bank,” explained Jayasekera in terms of customer success. He also stressed that SMEs are the DNA of Seylan and pointed to the multitude of long-standing and successful customers.

With a footprint of 170 branches and 3,300 employees countrywide, Seylan is also rolling out a new branch branding campaign, and will open two more branches in 2027, one each in the Jaffna District and Negombo.

As the business grows, Seylan said it is also reaching an important milestone in its ESG journey, completing 300 Pahasara school libraries across the country on 10th November. Pahasara has been a project that has reached over 700,000 children across the country over the past years, making reading, technology and learning more accessible and interesting.