ComBank wins ‘World Class Award’ at the Global Performance Excellence Awards presented by Asia Pacific Quality Organization

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has been recognised as a role model with a Global Performance Excellence Award (GPEA) for achieving significant milestones in business excellence.

Sri Lanka’s benchmark private sector bank was one of eight of the winning organisations adjudged a ‘World Class’ winner of the Global Performance Excellence Award for 2022 presented by the New Zealand based Asia Pacific Quality Organisation (APQO).

The ‘World Class’ award was presented to Commercial Bank as a result of a submission made about the Bank’s commitment to facilitate business excellence based on the Baldrige Excellence Framework for the National Quality Award (SLNQA) presented by the Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI) which was recommended by the Sri Lanka Standards Institution for the Asia Pacific Quality Organization competition.

The Global Performance Excellence Award was presented for validated management best practices, quality systems, standards, procedures and processes that are proven leading local, regional and international practices for quality advancement, business success and sustainability to support national, regional and Asia Pacific economic development, growth and success.

The awards aim to promote the adoption of proven or new approaches and strategies and best-in-class practices in various aspects of operational performance such as deployment of 4th Industrial revolution enabling technologies, automation and data technologies, smart manufacturing, service 4.0, digital transformation, data analytics, development of smart talents, etc., which are driving forces for companies or organisations to stay competitive in the ever-evolving economy.

Commercial Bank also won the APQO International Best Practice (AIBP) Gold Award for managing the system accesses given to Bank employees.

Commenting on this latest achievement, Commercial Bank Managing Director and CEO Mr Sanath Manatunge said: “We believe that quality, be it in service, process or product, must never be compromised even in the most challenging times. In fact, when external factors impact on some aspects of performance, adherence to quality becomes an important differentiator. Becoming the first and only Sri Lankan bank to win a Global Performance Excellence Award in the World Class category demonstrates that this credo has been adopted at every level within the Commercial Bank family.”

The Global Performance Excellence Awards programme is the only formal international recognition of performance or business excellence. The awards are intended to promote awareness in performance excellence as an increasingly important tool in competitiveness towards global business success and sustainability.

The Asia Pacific Quality Organisation was formally established in 1985 and is represented by National Quality Organisations in Asia and Pacific Rim countries including the American Society for Quality. It is a non-profit organisation formed to be a primary mover for quality and continuous improvement for goods and services and quality of life in the Asia Pacific Region.

Sri Lanka’s first 100% carbon neutral bank, the first Sri Lankan bank to be listed among the Top 1000 Banks of the World and the only Sri Lankan bank to be so listed for 12 years consecutively, Commercial Bank operates a network of 268 branches and 940 automated machines in Sri Lanka. Commercial Bank is the largest lender to Sri Lanka’s SME sector and is a leader in digital innovation in the country’s Banking sector. The Bank’s overseas operations encompass Bangladesh, where the Bank operates 19 outlets; Myanmar, where it has a Microfinance company in Nay Pyi Taw; and the Maldives, where the Bank has a fully-fledged Tier I Bank with a majority stake.