Commercial Bank of Ceylon Honoured as Best Bank for 14th Consecutive Year

Strategic Insights -

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has been recognised as the Best Bank in Sri Lanka's domestic banks for the 14th year in a row by FinanceAsia, a leading information source on the Asian financial markets. The award, presented at the FinanceAsia Country Awards gala in Hong Kong, acknowledges the bank's exceptional financial performance in 2024, despite navigating external challenges such as the restructuring of Sri Lanka International Sovereign Bonds. The bank's Chief Financial Officer, Prasanna Indrajith, accepted the award on behalf of the bank, citing the bank's prudential approach to managing external challenges and its ability to leverage operational resilience in difficult times.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has been awarded the Best Bank title among Sri Lanka's domestic banks for the 14th consecutive year by FinanceAsia.
  • The bank's Chief Financial Officer, Prasanna Indrajith, accepted the award on behalf of the bank at the FinanceAsia Country Awards gala in Hong Kong.
  • The bank's exceptional financial results in 2024 were achieved despite the restructuring of Sri Lanka International Sovereign Bonds, highlighting its prudential approach to managing external challenges and operational resilience.
  • Commercial Bank was ranked the biggest lender to the country's Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector for the fourth consecutive year in 2024.
  • The bank continued to be the benchmark private bank in Sri Lanka, with the highest market shares among private sector banks in deposits, loans, total assets, market capitalisation, gross income, and total capital base.
  • The FinanceAsia awards process celebrated institutions that showed determination to deliver desirable outcomes, through the display of commercial and technical acumen.
  • Other Country Award winners included City Bank (Bangladesh), Allied Bank (Pakistan), Bank of China (Hong Kong), PT Bank Mandiri (Indonesia), BDO Unibank (Philippines), Techcombank (Vietnam), and United Overseas Bank (Singapore).

Statistics:

  • Rs. 2.876 trillion: Group assets of the Commercial Bank of Ceylon as at 31 December 2024.
  • Rs. 2.31 trillion: Deposits of the Commercial Bank of Ceylon as at 31 December 2024.
  • Rs. 1.53 trillion: Loan book of the Commercial Bank of Ceylon as at 31 December 2024.
  • Rs. 274.976 billion: Gross income of the Commercial Bank of Ceylon as at 31 December 2024.

Sources:

  • "Commercial Bank of Ceylon Honoured as Best Bank for 14th Consecutive Year" - FinanceAsia
  • "FinanceAsia Country Awards 2024" - FinanceAsia