Euromoney hails Combank as Best Bank in Sri Lanka in 2018
The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has been adjudged the Best Bank in Sri Lanka in 2018 by Euromoney, one of the world’s leading financial magazines, at its Asia Awards for Excellence presented recently in Hong Kong.
This is the fifth time that Commercial Bank has been honoured with this award. The prestigious Euromoney accolade is based on detailed submissions from market participants and extensive yearround research into the banking and capital markets in the region by the magazine’s editors, journalists and research team.
According to Euromoney, the Asia Awards are seen as the benchmark for the leading firms in financial services in the region, and are fiercely contested across numerous markets and categories.
The evaluation by Euromoney covers banks in all major countries in Asia, Middle East, Europe, Africa, North and Latin America, the Caribbean as well as the Nordic and Baltic regions. Euromoney honours institutions that demonstrate leadership, innovation and momentum in the markets in which they excel and presents a number of awards to the Asian region’s banks and securities houses.
Among the aspects examined for the awards are qualitative and quantitative criteria such as market position, volume of business transacted, new product development, management system, credit ratings, efficiency ratios and annual key performance indicators.
The award for the Best Bank in Sri Lanka in 2018 was accepted by Commercial Bank’s Chief Operating Officer Renganathan at the presentation ceremony at Island Shangri La Hotel, Hong Kong. Leading figures from banking and capital markets across Asia were present to hear the announcement of Euromoney’s Asia Awards for Excellence 2018.
The Euromoney Best Bank award comes hot on the heels of Commercial Bank becoming the only bank in Sri Lanka to be ranked among the World’s Top 1000 Banks for the eighth consecutive year, as well as the receipt of five other international awards – four from Asia Banking and Finance and one from Financeasia.
For the Financial year 2017, Commercial Bank reported total assets of Rs 1.143 trillion, gross income of Rs 115.6 billion, net profit of Rs 16.5 billion, a deposits base of Rs 850.1 billion and total loans & receivables of Rs 754.7 billion. The Bank also paid Rs 11.5 billion in taxes to the government, lent Rs.131.8 billion to SMES, which includes loans to commercial agriculture, dairy, farming and industrial activities, channeled 10.56 percent of the country’s imports and 18.58 percent of its exports in 2017, and was the Sri Lankan bank with the largest footprint in Asia.
In terms of Capital Adequacy Ratios, the bank’s Total Tier 1 capital ratio (with capital buffers) at 12.11 percent as at 31st December 2017 was well above the 7.75 percent required under Basel III. The Total Capital Ratio of 15.75 percent at the end of 2017 was comfortably above the Basel III requirement of 11.75 percent.
Commercial Bank operates a network of 261 branches and 775 ATMS in Sri Lanka. The bank has won more than 30 international and local awards in 2016 and 2017 and has over the years received multiple awards as Sri Lanka’s Best Bank, Best Trade Bank, Strongest Bank and Most Respected Bank from a number of local and international institutions and publications.