Combank relaunches ‘Millionaire Account’

Commercial Bank of Ceylon has relaunched its popular ‘Millionaire Account’ to enable a larger group of aspiring savers to open accounts and benefit from its unique structure.

The bank said it would now allow customers to build up a minimum balance of Rs.500,000 instead of Rs.1 million as originally envisaged or multiples of Rs.500,000 with no upper limit on the targeted investment. The holders of Commercial Bank Millionaire Accounts will also be eligible to borrow an equivalent of up to 75 percent of their account balances, a new feature introduced with the relaunch of the product. Originally launched in 2015 as an aspiration-linked investment plan that enables account holders to build up a target amount within a specific period without a high initial investment, the Commercial Bank Millionaire Account is designed principally to cater to a segment that needs to fast track savings for specific purposes such as the purchase of assets, children’s or own education or weddings. The product is a flexible, easy to manage investment plan that generates expected returns within a targeted period of time.

It guarantees the depositor a balance of Rs.500,000 or multiples of Rs.500,000 in two, three, four, five or six years, depending on how much he or she is willing to deposit each month.

Available to any Sri Lankan over 18 years of age, the Commercial Bank Millionaire Account that generates a balance of Rs.500,000 in two years requires a monthly deposit of Rs.19,155 per month. A deposit of double that – Rs.38,310 per month – over two years guarantees the depositor a balance of Rs.1 million.

Depositors can nominate beneficiaries to receive the total amount invested without any penalty charge, in the event of their demise before maturity.

Sri Lanka’s largest and most profitable private bank and the country’s most-awarded financial institution, Commercial Bank plays a significant role in the national economy. The bank accounted for 4.31 percent of the total market capitalisation of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) in 2016 with a market capitalisation of US $ 790 million at the end of the year.

The bank is the largest lender in Sri Lanka to SMES, having disbursed Rs.952 billion to the sector over the past five years and channels 17.82 percent of the country’s export volumes and 8.36 percent of its import volumes. For FY 2016, Commercial Bank reported assets of Rs.1.012 trillion, gross income of Rs.93.143 billion, net profit of Rs.14.513 billion, a deposits base of Rs.739.563 billion and a loan book of Rs.633.391 billion.