NDB was honoured at the ‘Business Today Top 30’ award ceremony held recently, presented by the popular magazine ‘Business Today’. 

The Business Today Top 30 recognises the Top 30 corporate performers of Sri Lanka for the financial year 2016/2017. The Business Today Top 30 award is strictly based on published information of companies listed in the Colombo Stock Exchange. The companies have been selected on the basis of their performance recorded during the financial year ending December 31, 2016 and March 31, 2017, with the assistance of KPMG Sri Lanka.

Retaining its position in the Top 30, NDB was recognised for the bank’s stable performance, steady organic growth, competitive strengths, innovative banking solutions and sustainability initiatives.
While building on its original strengths, the bank has ventured into new products and services. Today, the bank provides a full spectrum of financial solutions such as retail banking, small and medium enterprise (SME) banking, corporate banking, project and infrastructure financing, leasing, housing finance, cash management, correspondent banking, remittance services, margin trading, pawning, treasury and investment services, bancassurance and card operations.

The strength of the NDB group in its multiple segments is matched by none, with services delivered through locally domiciled entities. The group remains well capitalized with a diversified business model including ‘direct full service investment banking’ by NDB Capital Holdings Ltd, ‘direct investment banking’ by NDB Capital Ltd Bangladesh, ‘direct property management’ by Development Holdings (Pvt.) Ltd, ‘indirect investment banking’ by NDB Investment Bank Ltd, ‘indirect wealth management’ by NDB Wealth Management Ltd, ‘indirect investment advisory and securities trading’ by NDB Securities (Pvt.) Ltd and ‘indirect management of private equity funds’ by NDB Zephyr Partners Ltd. 

Moving forward, the bank’s strategic focus will be on the retail and middle market segments. Recognising the economic importance of the middle market segment, the bank opened a new ‘Business Banking Unit’ which will cater to this segment. The bank will continue to leverage the power of information technology to add value to the services it provides to its customers. The mobile banking service, implemented by the bank uses cutting-edge technology to enable customers to conduct transactions via a variety of devices. It also provides users with a portal to interact with merchant and utility providers.

The bank reported a 64 percent commendable growth in its profit after tax (PAT) over the comparative period to record Rs.3,310 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2017. The bank’s profit before tax (PBT) of Rs.5,679 million was an increase of 61 percent over the comparative period. Continuous and consistent improvement in core banking operations of the bank over the reported three quarters and dividend income from group companies contributed towards this remarkable performance. The PBT and PAT of the bank, excluding the group dividends grew impressively by 51 percent and 50 percent, respectively, which is a clear reflection of the strong performance of the core banking operations. 

The bank’s balance sheet closed at Rs.371 billion, a growth of 11 percent, over the year 2016. The asset growth was supported by loans and advances growth of 14 percent (absolute growth of Rs.31 billion). The growth in loans and advances was from all business and product segments of the bank, corporate banking, project and infrastructure financing, retail banking and SME financing, which consolidates the position of the bank’s effort to reach all market segments throughout the country. Customer deposits were Rs.255 billion and recorded an impressive growth of 25 percent over the year 2016, (by Rs.52 billion).

NDB continues its efforts to empower the youth of the nation through multiple projects that place emphasis on issues that are critical for sustainable economic growth and the future success of the nation as a whole. With strategic corporate social responsibility focus areas of education, environment, entrepreneurship and health, NDB’s goal is to promote sustainable development in the nation.