ComBank launches scheme with SLII to finance professional studies in Insurance

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC has collaborated with the Sri Lanka Insurance Institute (SLII), the local body affiliated to the Chartered Insurance Institute of UK, to provide special education loans and easy payment plans to the Institute’s members, in support of their career aspirations.

Concessions offered to students of SLII by Commercial Bank include education loans with low interest rates that would finance up to 90% of the Institute’s course fees and special credit cards with the benefit of zero-interest easy payment plans. The Bank said it will also waive off handling charges and commission fees pertaining to these credit card easy payment plans.

The special education loans and easy payment plans will be applicable to courses such as the ‘Certificate in Insurance’ and ‘Diploma in Insurance’ in affiliation with the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), UK. Credit card payments can also made for entry-level professional examinations including Foundation and Diploma courses offered by the SLII, the Bank said.

Commenting on this partnership between the Bank and SLII, Commercial Bank’s Group Chief Marketing Officer Mr. Hasrath Munasinghe said: “Commercial Bank has always been focused on contributing towards the growth and development of its customers as well as contributing towards the development of the country. By partnering with the SLII to launch this latest scheme to finance the professional studies in Sri Lanka relating to insurance, we not only hope to facilitate career development but also to contribute towards professional excellence in this sector.”

Commercial Bank partnered similarly with the University of Moratuwa last year to offer its postgraduate research students education loans with preferential interest rates and other benefits, and in 2020, joined hands with HCL Technologies Sri Lanka, the local arm of the multinational IT giant, to offer concessionary education loans to the company’s trainees and employees.

The Sri Lanka Insurance Institute was established to enhance professionalism in the practice of insurance in Sri Lanka and to develop the necessary human resources in insurance and other related financial services. The Institute provides insurance education in Sri Lanka, in collaboration with the Chartered Insurance Institute of UK (CII UK) and the Insurance Institute of India, and is authorised to conduct agency examinations on behalf of the Industry Regulator, the Insurance Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (IRCSL).

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 11 years consecutively, Commercial Bank operates a network of 268 branches and 938 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.