Combank adjudged ‘Most Responsible Bank – Sri Lanka’ by Capital Finance International

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has been adjudged the ‘Most Responsible Bank’ in Sri Lanka by the London based print journal and online resource ‘Capital Finance International’ (CFI.co) which reports on business, economics and finance.

This significant accolade was awarded especially in recognition of Commercial Bank’s commitment to improve Green financing – such as renewable energy projects on a large scale – by exploring the Green energy potential in the country.

Furthermore, the Bank’s investment interest in tourism, healthcare, and infrastructure projects in the country too played a part in winning it the ‘Most Responsible Bank – Sri Lanka’ 2017 award.

The CFI.co judging panel commended Commercial Bank on its robust approach to responsible banking and recognised its pioneering role in this regard. Notably, the Commercial Bank of Ceylon is an early signatory to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), a UN initiative to encourage businesses worldwide to adopt sustainable and socially-responsible policies.

“The Commercial Bank of Ceylon prides itself on adhering to the highest standards of corporate governance and corporate social responsibility, building on a business model that serves the interests of all stakeholders,” commented Mr Jegan Durairatnam, the Managing Director of the Bank. “This award is yet another affirmation of our commitment to not just serving our customers better, but of our responsibility in conducting business in a manner that results in the betterment of the country.”

The CFI.co awards programme seeks out individuals and organisations that contribute significantly to the convergence of economies and add value for all stakeholders. Reporting from the frontlines of economic convergence, CFI.co underlines that best practice is to be found throughout the world and its awards programme aims to identify and reward excellence wherever it is found in the hope of inspiring others to further improve their own performances.

The publication is particularly interested in including smaller companies that contribute to global progress, but might otherwise go unnoticed on the international stage.

Commercial Bank operates a network of 256 branches and 695 ATMs in Sri Lanka and has won more than 22 international and local awards in 2016 and 2017.  Earlier this year the Bank was named Sri Lanka’s Best Bank by the USA based Global Finance; was adjudged the ‘Best Domestic Bank’ and the ‘Best Digital Bank’ in Sri Lanka by Asiamoney; was recognised as the Best Bank in Sri Lanka by FinanceAsia; the Bank’s website was adjudged the best in Sri Lanka’s financial sector at the inaugural SLT Zero One Awards presented by Sri Lanka Telecom and the Bank was ranked among the Top 1000 Banks of the World for the seventh consecutive year. The Bank also won two awards from International Banker – UK, in 2017, being adjudged ‘Best Commercial Bank of the Year’ and receiving the award for ‘Best Innovation in Retail Banking.’

Commercial Bank’s overseas operations encompass Bangladesh, where the Bank operates 19 outlets, Myanmar, where it has a Representative Office in Yangon, the Maldives, where the Bank opened a fully-fledged Tier I Bank with a stake of 55% in September 2016 and Italy, where the Bank launched its own money transfer service in November 2016.