Eastman Narangoda, Chairman of Seylan Bank
Vasantha Kumar, CEO and General Manager of People’s Bank
Progressive, in terms of a globalized and inclusive vision,
People’s Bank was the first Sri Lankan bank to print its checkbooks in three languages: English, Tamil and Sinhala.
With the largest branch network in the country, People’s Bank provides banking services and products to well over half the nation’s population. As its CEO and General Manager
Vasantha Kumar says: “We concentrate on education, culture, environment, and re-building the north and east... We are setting up citizens in their homes, empowering them and uplifting their livelihoods through micro-financing.”
As Sri Lanka rapidly emerges as a regional hub of ports, aviation, commerce, knowledge and energy, one of the financial sector’s most crucial endeavors has been to create a banking infrastructure that is globally competitive and technologically advanced. People’s Bank has been at the forefront of those developments with its integration of SMS and internet-based banking facilities. As well as being technological pioneers, People’s Bank have also led the way in creating corporate banking and trade finance solutions, offering diverse financial services to cater for the large business volumes of multinational companies, welcoming foreign investors to its corporate credit services as well as its offshore banking facilities.
Meanwhile,
Eastman Narangoda originally took over
Seylan Bank when it was on the verge of collapse. The bank is an unprecedented case of recovery in the domestic banking sector, restoring public confidence without the need for a bailout.
As Mr. Narangoda emphasizes: “We have implemented a world-class risk management policy. In this sense, we can proudly say that we are 100 % compliant with all Central Bank directives and regulations.”
2010 saw the bank make a net profit of Rs 1.2 billion ($10.5 million), which represented 126% growth and is the highest ever recorded by the bank.
