17 November 2022 12:00 am Views - 159
The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has become the highest-ranked bank and one of the five best-performing companies in Sri Lanka for the 14th consecutive year in the latest Business Today Top 40 ranking released in November 2022.
Sri Lanka’s largest private sector bank, Commercial Bank has been placed third in the overall ranking this year.
“The period assessed by Business Today for this latest ranking was challenging for businesses in general and for banks in particular,” Commercial Bank Managing Director and CEO Sanath Manatunge said.
“To be ranked the third best-performing corporate in Sri Lanka overall is therefore an encouraging endorsement of the bank’s ability to respond to challenges and meet stakeholder expectations while fulfilling its obligations to the community and the planet.”
Commenting on Commercial Bank’s performance in 2020-21, Business Today said: “With an emphasis on controlling operational expenses and preventing any possible deterioration in its cost-to-income ratio and profitability, the Commercial Bank ended 2021 with solid growth by aligning its business with its strategic pillars of prudent growth and operational excellence.”
“The bank heeded government calls to offer moratoriums to businesses. It restructured 25 percent on the total portfolio of advances through proactive communication and close staff monitoring,” Business Today observed, noting that “The Bank successfully maintained a low non-performing loan ratio of 1.44 per cent, reflecting the high asset quality possessed by the bank and the success of the initiatives implemented to support customers navigating through a complex operating context.”