Union Bank celebrates 25 years of banking to the nation
Union Bank celebrates 25 years of banking operations in Sri Lanka and the bank has planned a series of programmes to fittingly celebrate this significant milestone.
Union Bank was established in the year 1995 as the 8th indigenous bank, and had since then seen many phases of growth and evolution.
Union Bank entered Sri Lanka’s financial services landscape with a firm will to become a unique entity that challenges the status-quo and shapes new paradigms.
The environment in which Union Bank entered and operated in remained challenging, given the large number of commercial banks, some with a globally renowned presence that had already made inroads and were firmly established in Sri Lanka. It was imperative therefore, that Union Bank created for itself a unique personality and identity.
This focus saw Union Bank identify the niche opportunities on the SME sector, which for the most part remained un-banked and was in need for focused financial support to become a key driver of national development.
During years of dedicated service as a preferred banker to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMES), the bank pursued a pragmatic growth agenda, aligned with the national development goals that included sustainable growth of the SME sector. Having recognised the importance of the sector, Union Bank contributed immensely towards entrepreneurship development, thereby giving rise to many positive cascades that includes producing assiduous entrepreneurial mavens who become role models for younger generations, spurring employment for communities which also engendered better living standards, and empowering industries that may have lain dormant or slow in gaining a renaissance, thus contributing to overall social and economic development of the country.
One of the largest global investment companies, TPG’S investment of US$117 million in Union Bank in 2014, acquiring 70 percent of the bank’s equity through its affiliate Culture Financial Holdings Ltd.
Marked a milestone for the bank and to the banking industry as one the largest foreign direct investments to Sri Lanka. This marked the beginning of a new phase of accelerated growth for Union Bank.
With a solid foundation etched with financial stability and international know-how, today Union Bank is a full-service commercial bank offering a comprehensive range of products and services to financially empower individuals, entrepreneurs and corporates in Sri Lanka. The bank still continues to support and empower the SME sector with enhanced focus and customized service propositions designed to empower this segment.
Following the capital infusion, the Bank implemented a cohesive re-engineering for accelerated growth with substantial innovations and developments to its product offering, human capital, technological and delivery platforms with a view of providing a differentiated banking experience to its clientele. The bank extends its products and services to a diverse client base via an island-wide network of 67 branches, supported by anextensive ATM network and digital banking advances that facilitate greater convenience to all clients.
Commenting on the 25th anniversary of the bank, Chief Executive Officer Indrajit Wickramasinghe said, “I’m pleased and proud of reaching this significant milestone of Union Bank. The success of the bank thus far had been built on the dedication of our employees. Our team has grown to over 1200 employees in tandem with the bank’s expansion and they will continue to be the pillars on which we build the future success of Union Bank.
“We will celebrate our transformational journey of growth with a series of events throughout the year, which was inaugurated with the religious ceremonies held recently. The future of Union Bank is exciting and we invite our stakeholders to benefit from the multi-dimensional growth of the Bank in the coming years.”
Inauguration of Union Bank’s 25th anniversary was marked by an all-night pirith ceremony followed by an alms-giving which was held at the Bank’s head office. The bank’s Chief Executive Officer Indrajit Wickramasinghealong with the leadership team, senior management and staff members from branches around the country and head office departments participated with their families in the ceremony.
The pirith ceremony was followed by a series of religious ceremonies representing the three major denominational faiths of the country, which were attended by bank’s management and staff. The religious ceremonies were organised to invoke blessings on the customers and staff of Union Bank as well as on the country and its people.
The bank’s 25th anniversary events to felicitate customers and employees along with projects to contribute towards the community are in the pipeline and will be rolled during the year.