Euromoney recognizes Sampath ‘Best Bank of Sri Lanka 2013’
Sampath Bank, one of the leading commercial banks in Sri Lanka, has been awarded the prestigious ‘ Best Bank of Sri Lanka 2013’ award at the recently concluded Euromoney - Awards for Excellence 2013 award ceremony in Hong Kong. The award was received by Sampath Bank Chairman Dhammika Perera, Managing Director Aravinda Perera and Group Chief Financial Officer Ranjith Samaranayake.
The following is based on an interview with Sampath Bank Managing Director Aravinda Perera on the award.
Q: What is this award? How did your bank win this?
Euromoney is one of t he reputed global financial magazines involved in conducting worldwide competitions annually and selecting best performing banks in respective countries. Euromoney maintains a solid track record of a long-standing reputation and its selections have been widely accepted. We consider winning this award as a great achievement for us since we had to compete with very formidable competitors in Sri Lanka.
Q: How was the selection done? The evaluation was done based on the selected performance criteria and other details as given in the completed questionnaire of each applicant. The requested information was in both quantitative and qualitative in nature. In addition, the secondary data such as annual reports, rating reports and evaluations made by other reputed research agencies may have been given due consideration.
Q: What were the financial performance indicators that contributed to win this award?
They were market capitalization, earning per share, PE ratio, total revenue, profit before/after tax, return on equity, total assets, cost/ income ratio, Tier 1 capital, total deposits, total advances, market share of deposits and advances, gross loans/deposits ratio, etc.
Q: What were the qualitative data that contributed?
Mainly product innovations and system innovations, risk management policies, good corporate governance, CSR initiatives and compliance.
Q: Can you elaborate on some latest product innovations?
Mainly the foreign currency exchange ATM - this is a unique ATM that converts foreign currency to Sri Lankan rupees and the users of the ATM need not be Sampath Bank account holders as this is operated without an ATM card. This is a first time implementation by a Sri Lankan commercial bank. The other is the introduction of Mobile Cash- a novel experience for Sri Lankans to send and receive money via any mobile/CDMA phone. From a systems innovation point of view, the common ATM switch introduced by Sampath Bank stands out from the rest. Sampath Bank has connected nine banks into one common switch thereby creating the largest ATM network of 1,750 ATMs in the country.
Q: How will be the future outlook of Sampath Bank?
As an innovative bank which changed the banking landscape in the country, we look forward to continuing with our tradition of setting industry standards through technological innovation and customer service.
Sampath Bank owns a wide network of 210 branches across the country, which includes three super branches located in Dharmapala Mawatha, Wellawatta and Kiribathgoda and the network of super branches will continue to expand. Open on all 365 days of the year, adding great convenience to customers, with extended banking hours, these branches are becoming very popular. Further, we will maintain our growth momentum on a sustainable basis through our existing branches, enhancing the market share and profitability.
We will also pay more attention in developing and promoting electronic banking channels more aggressively, to expand our customer reach, whilst providing more convenience to our customers. We have a team over 3,500 spread across 210 branches islandwide, which is motivated and inspired to push the boundaries to a wider playing field and greater efficiencies. Our focus will be on inclusive banking and higher penetration in banking services outside the Western Province and pursue overseas markets as well at the right time.