HNB Sri Lanka’s No 1 Bank
Sri Lanka’s most innovative bank, HNB PLC, continued to receive enthusiastic international recognition for its pioneering efforts in promoting a new paradigm in tech- enabled banking in the island, having been crowned first among Sri Lankan banks in the prestigious Banker Magazine UK’s ranking of the Top 1000 World Banks for 2018.
Commenting on the landmark achievement of the bank, HNB Managing Director/ CEO, Jonathan Alles commended the resounding efforts of his team of employees island- wide, for the unwavering commitment to HNB’s bold new vision for the Sri Lankan banking industry.
“To be ranked as first among Sri Lankan banks in the top 1000 banks globally by an institution as internationally respected as The Banker Magazine is a truly remarkable achievement and an unforgettable milestone and a testament to the remarkable transformation taking
place at HNB.
“In that context, I wish to convey my heartfelt gratitude to our team of employees islandwide for their dedication and untiring efforts in elevating our service and value proposition, as we continue in our journey to partner growth with Sri Lankans from all walks of life,” he said.
HNB’s new ranking represents the most recent in a long series of local and international accolades received by the bank. Over the past year, HNB was recognised as the highest ranked bank in the country by both LMD and Buisness Today while being awarded as the Best Bank in Sri Lanka by the Banker magazine. HNB became the Best Retail Bank in Sri Lanka for the 10th time at the Asian Banker Awards,
in addition to sweeping the Asian Banker Transaction Banking Awards with three accolades for Best Cash Management Bank, Best Payment Bank, Best Foreign Exchange Bank.
Similarly, HNB also brought home the awards for Best SME Bank, Best Digital Bank, Best Cash Management Bank at the Asia Money Country Awards while also winning the coveted International Finance Magazine Award f or Most Innovat ive Microfinance Bank in Sri Lanka. HNB’s Islamic Banking operation was recognised as the Best Shariah Compliant Window in Sri Lanka by the Banker Magazine.
The local and global international recognition that HNB continues to receive is often credited to the ambitious transformational journey undertaken by the bank from 2014 with the commencement of a series of bold initiatives aimed at realigning the bank and drastically upscaling its technological and service capabilities as part
of a wider vision to lead a digital revolution in every facet of the Sri Lankan banking industry.
The success of HNB’s rapid digital evolution and strategic direction is borne out in its performance where the bank has out performed the industry in many fronts including profitability, efficiency, capital adequacy and asset quality. Over the course of 2017, the bank’s Profit After Tax rose by 16.4% Year- on- Year ( YoY) to Rs. 16.5 billion while the group reported a Profit After Tax of Rs. 16.7 billion and an asset base of over Rs. 1 trillion.
Backed by an unblemished legacy of banking excellence that stretches back 130 years, HNB is Sri Lanka’s largest, most digitally innovative bank. Operating across 252 customer service centers island-wide, HNB maintains a thriving presence across retail, corporate, and SME sectors, including the country’s first and largest dedicated microfinance business managed by a private sector commercial bank.