Standard Chartered Sri Lanka displays strength and resilience at ‘The Asset Triple A Awards 2021’

Retains coveted accolades in Cash Management, Trade Finance and Sub-custodian Banking

Colombo, Sri Lanka – Standard Chartered Sri Lanka continued a winning streak at ‘The Asset Triple A Treasury, Trade, Sustainable Supply Chain and Risk Management Awards 2021’ by walking away with the awards for ‘Best Service Providers for Cash Management’ and ‘Best Service Providers for Trade Finance’ in Sri Lanka for the fifth time. The Bank also recorded a hat-trick for Sri Lanka as the ‘Best Sub-custodian in South Asia’ at ‘The Asset Triple A Sustainable Investing Awards 2021 for Institutional Investor, ETF, and Asset Servicing Providers’, securing the award for the third consecutive year.

Commenting on the Bank’s performance at one of the industry’s leading and highly anticipated awards was Bingumal Thewarathanthri, Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered Sri Lanka. “This year, Standard Chartered marked a global record for the highest number of awards secured by any organisation at The Asset Triple A Awards. We are proud to have contributed towards this milestone as the only bank among the South Asian countries that has successfully won both the Trade Finance and Cash Management awards.”

Despite facing a nation-wide lockdown, the Bank remained committed to servicing transactions without disruption through its globally recognised internet banking channel, Straight2Bank. Digitally initiated cash transactions growing by over 80% during this period, was a testament to how easily the Bank’s internet banking channel could be adopted into payment processes of corporate clients, while working from the safety of their homes.

The Bank also demonstrated resilience in the area of trade services by mobilising the team through the pandemic to ensure commerce continued through the Bank’s global network for both Sri Lankan corporates and financial institutions. Standard Chartered Sri Lanka also became the first branch to implement supplier finance initiation via SWIFT and further, recorded an improvement of over 30% in trade finance automation in Open Account transactions.

“This past year, our Cash and Trade teams have launched multiple innovative solutions including the country’s first ever inter-bank instant payment API connectivity solution implemented for PickMe as well as the first digitally-enabled Cross Border Trade Receivable Services implementation for one of the key apparel design and manufacturers in the country. This global recognition is a reflection of our team’s commitment to innovate for our clients who have placed their trust in the Bank to meet their ever-evolving needs,” said Roger Norton, Head of Cash, Trade and Transaction Banking, Standard Chartered Sri Lanka.

With over two decades of experience conducting award programmes, The Asset Triple A Awards distinguishes best-in-class organisations using a stringent methodology combined with a rigorous approach. Submissions are reviewed by The Asset’s board of editors with winners for The Asset Triple A Treasury, Trade, Sustainable Supply Chain and Risk Management Awards selected based on the following metrics: inputs provided by clients, business statistics during the review period and information gathered during pitch meetings or calls.