HNB Al Najaah celebrates 10 years of Islamic banking excellence

Sri Lanka’s largest retail bank Hatton National Bank PLC’s Islamic banking business celebrated a decade of successful operations under the Al Najaah brand.
A specialist in Islamic banking, with deep expertise in performing large ticket and complex transactions, HNB Al Najaah is now gearing up for a new phase of growth, leveraging on HNB’s advanced tech capabilities in order to streamline service delivery in the new normal.

“By its nature, Islamic banking enables opportunities for steady growth. Particularly at a time of such severe volatility, this stability is immensely valuable. Taking into consideration the fact that globally, Islamic finance is estimated to have a value of US $ 2.2 trillion, we see potential for Islamic banking to make vital contributions in accelerating Sri Lanka’s economic revival. I take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude and congratulate the Al Najaah team on reaching this vital milestone and I look forward to working closely with the team to help them gear up for our next phase of growth,” HNB Managing Director/CEO Jonathan Alles said.

Established in 2012 as a small unit with five staff members under the capable leadership of HNB AGM-Head of Islamic Banking and local pioneer in the field of Islamic banking and finance, Hisham Ally, the division has enjoyed strong growth over the past decade. Today, HNB Al Najaah has grown to 40 staff with a dedicated office on Marine Drive, Colombo 3 and a further six Islamic banking centres in Pettah, Kandy, Kalmunai, Beruwela, Akurana and Kattankudy.

In addition to consistently achieving the highest profits in the Sri Lankan Islamic banking sector for the past five years running, since inception, HNB Al Najaah has continuously been recognised for its remarkable performance. From just its second year of operations, the unit has won awards from the Sri Lanka Islamic banking and finance industry (SLIBFI) as well as the Islamic Finance Forum of South Asia (IFFSA), where it beat out contenders from South Asian giants Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, the Maldives and Kuwait.

Commenting on Al Najaah’s outstanding growth story so far, Ally said, “We have achieved great heights in a very short span of time and our focus is on the future. The team is ready to pursue new opportunities, particularly in relation to exports, which is the need of the hour, as well as project-based funding with a strong emphasis on renewable energy, local manufacturing and green agriculture segments. We are confident that we can play a significant role in facilitating the development of these essential sectors, in order to support the government’s efforts to revitalise the Sri Lankan economy.”