Union Bank announces appointment of new Deputy Chairman and changes to board

The board of directors of Union Bank announced the appointment of Trevine Fernandopulle as the new Deputy Chairman, with effect from August 30, 2021. 

The board also announced the retirement of the current Deputy Chairman Sabry Ghouse from his services on the board from August 29, 2021, upon completion of his nine-year service period as per the corporate governance directions issued by the Central Bank 
of Sri Lanka.

It further announced the appointment of A.S. Ibrahim as an Independent Non-executive Director to the Union Bank board, with effect from 
August 15, 2021.  

Fernandopulle has served the Union Bank board since 2017 as an Independent Non-Executive Director and he also serves on a number of board committees of the bank, providing astute counsel and guidance to the bank’s management in driving its operations. He is a veteran banker with over 40 years’ experience in the financial services sector. Prior to joining the Union Bank board, he served as Group Chief Risk Officer/Executive Vice President Risk of the DFCC group and as Chief Risk Officer at Bank of Ceylon. 

He was also Deputy Chief Executive Officer (DCEO) of HSBC Sri Lanka, where he served for 30 years and acquired wide knowledge and exposure to international banking and risk management specialisms, having provided leadership to numerous functions including risk management, foreign exchange and treasury, international trade, corporate banking and retail operations. 

Fernandopulle is Chairman of AMW Capital Leasing and Finance PLC (an Al Futtaim Group Dubai-owned company) and the Board of Trustees of Joseph Frazer 
Memorial Hospital. 

He also serves on the board of Continental Insurance Lanka Ltd, Enterprise Ceylon Capital (Pvt.) Ltd and National Insurance Trust Fund.  He is a Past President of Chartered Institute of Bankers (Sri Lanka Branch) and a Founder Member/past Vice President of the Association of Banking Risk Professionals of Sri Lanka. 

Fernandopulle holds a BSc. (Mathematics) from Imperial College, University of London (UOL), an MSc (Statistics) from the London School of Economics, UOL and is also an Associate/Fellow of the Chartered Institute of 
Bankers, London.   

The newly appointed board member A.S. Ibrahim has over 37 years of banking experience primarily in the areas of corporate banking, treasury management and risk management. He served as Chief Executive Officer of People’s Leasing & Finance PLC from July 2017 to November 2020. 

Ibrahim has held very senior positions both locally and internationally including, Senior Deputy General Manager Wholesale Banking and Senior Deputy General Manager Risk Management of People’s Bank, Deputy General Manager, Head of Treasury, Head of Corporate Banking and Recoveries, Chief Risk Officer and Chief Credit Officer of Hatton National Bank PLC and Head of Credit and GSAM of Standard 
Chartered Bank. 

Ibrahim was a Director of People’s Insurance PLC, People’s Merchant Finance PLC, People’s Leasing Fleet Management Limited, People’s Leasing Havelock Properties Limited, People’s Micro-Commerce Limited, People’s Leasing Property Development Limited and Lankan Alliance Finance Limited in Bangladesh and currently serves on the board of Fintrex Finance Limited. He holds an Honours Degree (BSc) from the University of Colombo and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers - UK (FCIB).

The appointments further consolidate the strength of the Union Bank board and will add immense value and distinction to the strategic direction of the bank. The board also expressed their sincere thanks and gratitude to Sabry Ghouse, the retiring Deputy Chairman for his valuable contribution to the bank over the years.