Renuka Jayasinghe - Deputy General Manager ( Retail Banking and Co-op & Development), People’s Bank.

People’s Bank recently commemorated World Thrift Day, a hallmark day which was created at the first international banking conference that was held in Italy in 1924. World Thrift Day highlights the importance of saving and recognizes the positive correlation between good saving habits and an enhanced quality of life. 
Healthy saving habits are known to help individuals in times of sickness, natural disaster, in their efforts to continue their higher education, buy a home or start a new business venture. Additionally, the economic status of a country can also be measured based on the personal savings of the population. If the per capita saving of a country is large, it is usually considered a developing country and therefore savings are generally considered a vital component of economic development.  Since its inception in 1961, People’s Bank has been dedicated to understanding the pulse of the people of Sri Lanka and has served their diverse financial needs for decades. Through an innovative range of well-established products, People’s Bank has encouraged people across Sri Lanka to embrace the habit of saving. 
In its efforts to encourage the youth of the country to develop sound saving habits, People’s Bank recently introduced Sri Lanka’s first ever eco-friendly savings product in Green Banking Concept  – the ‘Young Executive Sarver’ account (also commonly known as ‘YES’). Over the next five years, People’s Bank will gradually transition into becoming the most digitalized and technologically advanced bank in the country, as part of its long-term strategy to position itself as Sri Lanka’s undisputed market leader in the financial services industry. 

The ‘YES’ account is the bank’s first green banking solution and has already encouraged a large percentage of Sri Lankan youth, to save responsibly and enjoy the benefits and convenience of paperless banking. This unique account aligns well with the bank’s vision to reduce its carbon footprint, preserve the environment, use energy more efficiently and minimize the use of paper in order to secure a more sustainable future. Under the theme ‘Go Green with YES’, the account delivers banking services electronically via e-statements, mobile and internet banking and paperless communications. 

Commenting on the importance of savings, Renuka Jayasinghe - Deputy General Manager (Retail Banking and Co-op & Development), People’s Bank stated, “People’s Bank has always provided people across the island with savings accounts that are easy to use and enhanced by various benefits. By transitioning into a more digitalized bank, we are well poised to usher in an era of modern banking excellence. Green banking solutions such as the ‘YES’ account encourage one of the country’s most important demographics – the youth, to save in the most efficient and environmentally-friendly manner possible, so they can build successful careers and lives. Instilling positive saving habits in the youth, will reap multiple rewards for our society and the country, as it is the youth who will grow up to become our next generation of leaders. Our other products also encourage saving amongst children, parents, professionals, small and large scale business owners and many other demographics. World Thrift Day is dedicated to the promotion of savings around the world and aligns well with our ongoing efforts to encourage all segments of society to save so they can enjoy peace of mind and a better quality of life.” 

People’s Bank has also pioneered many other products including the ‘Isuru Udana’ account which can be opened by a parent to celebrate the birth of their child. The account comes with various gift and savings certificates for milestones in the child’s life such as the first meal, birthdays and a reading ceremony. These savings certificates can also be used to open a new ‘Isuru Udana’ account or deposit in an existing ‘Isuru Udana’ account. Several ‘Sisu Udana’ centres are located across Sri Lanka in schools and encourage children to save further and make responsible spending choices. For this year’s World Children’s Day, children who opened ‘Isuru Udana’ and ‘Sisu Udana’ accounts in October, were awarded special gifts. People’s Bank also awards Grade 5 scholars special gifts and recognizes students in each district who have achieved island-wide best results. 

The ‘People’s Relax’ account helps people save towards a pension that can be used later, and gives the young working class individual the chance to save at the start of their careers and reap the rewards of their hard work when they are ready. People’s Bank was also the first bank to dedicate a special savings account for women, the ‘Vanitha Wasana’ account offers women across the country attractive benefits by way of loan facilities for many purposes and the ‘Senior Citizens’ account offers the elderly attractive interest rates to help them maximize their savings.  

Customers of People’s Bank also enjoy added benefits through the bank’s easy interest scheme loan facilities. The ‘People’s Wisdom Loan’ provides funding for higher education and the ‘People’s Auto Loan’ is designed to help customers purchase a vehicle with ease. The bank has also supported entrepreneurs and multiple industries ranging from agriculture, to development, microfinance, consumer and trade finance, marine finance, real-estate, housing, tourism and hospitality.  

Since its inception 54 years ago, People’s Bank has opened its doors to customers across the country, from all walks of life, providing them with banking services that meet their unique needs and uplift their lives. People’s Bank currently serves over 16 million customers through 737 branches and its connected network of 3000 ATMs is linked to the Lanka Pay gateway.The bank also continues to play a important role in encouraging various industries including agriculture, real estate, commercial development, small and medium enterprises and exports and this in turn has helped support communities across the country. People’s Bank has always been a driver of financial inclusivity and was also the first bank in the country to commence bilingual operations in Sinhala and Tamil, and thereafter also introduced Sri Lanka’s first trilingual cheque book. The bank recently introduced its 5-year strategic plan for growth - ‘SP 16/20’ to achieve its growth targets, and will work closely with the Government of Sri Lanka to build a thriving economy and dynamic, modern nation. 

Photo -  Renuka Jayasinghe - Deputy General Manager ( Retail Banking and Co-op & Development), People’s Bank.