NDB SVP Personal Banking and Customer Exprience Sanjaya Perera and VP Legal Melody Wickramanayake accept the award from Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Chairman Vish Govindasamy and guest of honour Trine Eskedal of Royal Norwegian Embassy

NDB Bank was once again honoured at Best Corporate Citizen Sustainability Award 2020, with the Top Ten Corporate Citizen award for the seventh consecutive year, at the annual event organised by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.

Winning this award a total of seven times to date, the bank has been recognised as an organisation that is committed to responsible business practices and sustainable value creation.

NDB has been a front-runner to the development of the country for over four decades, with a value creation strategy that drives innovation and growth whilst addressing important social and environmental challenges in communities.

Strategically aligning the bank’s sustainability projects in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the bank has trained over 110,000 women entrepreneurs under SDG#1-No poverty, over 20 hospitals islandwide, the brave frontline medical staff and the public assisted to combat the COVID-19 pandemic under SDG#3-Good Health and well-being, the facilities of the Veheraagalaya Kanishta Vidyalaya, Matale upgraded, including the computer lab and donation of stationary items for the entire school of 191 students, as they embarked on their new scholastic year and supporting 10 students by granting scholarships under SDG#4-Quality Education.

A water purification system was also donated under SGD#6-Clean Water and Sanitation benefitting 211 students and teachers, action taken to combat climate change through reforestation by planting 3,000 trees at the Hibiliyakada forest in Matale, covering an extent of five hectares and planting over 12,000 mangrove plants at Puttalam under SDG#13-Climate Action, creating awareness on environmental conservation among schoolchildren in the country and educating over 16,000 students in partnership with The Wildlife and Nature Protection Society, under SDG#15-Life on Land.    

NDB continues its focused support towards customers affected by the pandemic. As a responsible lender, the bank’s financial support has been augmented with advisory and close monitoring of customer performance in their recovery process. The bank carefully curates restructured plans and other payment solutions that are apt in the customer’s industry climate and address their unique challenges.  

NDB Cares, NDB’s structured programme to support the bank’s employees, customers and the community at large in the face of the adversities brought by the pandemic continued, with various initiatives, including donations made to the healthcare sector.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the bank responded to the crisis in the country and contributed substantially to assist the brave frontline medical staff by providing personal protective equipment and the much-needed funding towards controlling the pandemic. Demonstrating the bank’s responsiveness in the face of a global crisis, NDB continued to offer uninterrupted banking services to customers islandwide. The bank’s revolutionary online and mobile banking platforms (NDB NEOS) ensured a safe and convenient option for customers to carry out financial transactions from home. Amidst the pandemic, the bank continued its digital drive with tech-enabled capabilities such as the ability to open accounts virtually with the use of virtual KYC, NEOSBIZ - a dedicated mobile app for SMEs and implementation of digital signatures for both internal and external use were introduced for the benefit and convenience of its customers. 

Despite the substantial financial pressure, the bank did not resort to laying off staff or reducing salaries/benefits. NDB employees were given the option of working from home, with a minimum of staff member serving at office premises on a roster basis. The bank’s organisational effectiveness and efficiency programme under the sponsorship of the group CEO and the bank’s automated processes contributed to the smooth functioning of the bank during the lockdown periods. This is a testament to the bank’s commitment, preparedness, planning and resilience.