Ceylon Commercial Bank (CBC), Also Known As ComBank, Is A Licensed Commercial Bank In Sri Lanka Whose Ownership Is Private. It Is A Public Limited Company Incorporated And Listed On The Colombo Stock Exchange. It Is Considered To Be The Largest Private Bank In Sri Lanka In Terms Of Net Assets And Capital. The Bank Is Currently The Third Largest Bank In Sri Lanka In Terms Of Total Net Assets, After Bank Of Ceylon And People's Bank (both State-owned Commercial Banks). It Is Also The Only Private Sector Licensed Bank In Sri Lanka To Be Designated By The Central Bank Of Sri Lanka As A Higher-level Domestic Systemically Important Bank. The Bank Currently Operates A Network Of 268 Branches And About 932 ATMs In Sri Lanka.
According To The Banker, It Became The First Sri Lankan Bank To Rank Among The Top 1000 Banks Worldwide And Achieved The Feat For The First Time In 2008. Commercial Bank Also Ranked Among The Top 1000 Global Banks For Almost 11 Consecutive Years From 2008 To 2021.
It Is Considered As One Of The Most Systemically Important Banks In Sri Lanka. It Is The Largest Lender In Sri Lanka's SME Sector. Sri Lanka's Ministry Of Finance Revealed That Commercial Bank Of Ceylon Is The Largest Lender In The SME Sector In 2020 With An Estimated Amount Of Rs 21.60 Billion, Which Is 15% Higher Than The Second Largest Lender To SMEs.
History
Originally Established In 1920, The Bank Conducted Banking Under The Name Eastern Bank. The First Branch Of Eastern Bank Ltd. (EBL) Opened On Chatham Street In Ford. During The 1930s And 1940s, Barclays Acquired Shares In Eastern Bank. In 1957, Chartered Bank Purchased Shares In Eastern Bank From Barclays (Barclays Bank), But Standard Chartered (Chartered Bank) Operated Eastern Bank For Only Four Years. On June 25, 1969, Ceylon Commercial Bank Limited Was Incorporated With 40% Equity Held By Eastern Bank. Senior Judge V. Manicavasagar Was Appointed As The First Chairperson Of The Commercial Bank In 1969.
In 2020, The Bank Celebrated Its Centenary. At The Special 100th Anniversary Celebration, The Bank Emphasized The Main Project Focus Of "Science Technology, Engineering And Mathematics (STEM) Smart Classrooms Will Be Established In 100 Schools In Sri Lanka."
Sustainability
For Several Years, The Bank Has Been Emphasizing The Priority Of Achieving Sustainability Through Its Banking Practices And Policies. The Bank Has Focused Its Sustainability Practices On Three Themes, Including Strategic Business Alignment, Culture And Footprint, And Responsibilities Beyond Banking. The Three Pillars Of Commercial Bank's Focus On Sustainability Are Sustainable Banking, Responsible Organisation And Community Impact. Commercial Bank's Sustainability Programme Is Overseen And Guided By A Cross-functional Sustainability Steering Committee (SSC), Which Comprises Key Functional Areas Related To Sustainability. The Bank Has Implemented And Applied A Social And Environmental Threat And Risk Assessment System In Sri Lanka To Screen Loan Projects With Zero Harm To The Environment. In 2015, The Bank Launched A New Paperless Green Banking Service, Further Demonstrating The Bank's Focus On Prioritising Green Technology And Sustainable Development.
It Became The First And Only Bank In Sri Lanka To Achieve A 100% Carbon Neutrality Status. As A Result, The Bank Has Achieved Carbon Neutrality Across Its Entire Business, Which Includes All 268 Branches As Well As Its Head Office. The Bank Reportedly Financed The First Financially Viable Wind Power Project In Sri Lanka And The First Commercial-scale Solar Power Project In Sri Lanka. The Bank Became One Of The Founding Members Of The Sri Lanka Banking Association's Sustainable Banking Initiative.
Operations
The Commercial Bank Introduced Its Online Banking Procedures To Customers In 2000.
In 2016, The Bank Launched Sri Lanka's First Money Transfer Card To Streamline The Process Of Transferring Funds From Overseas To Local Beneficiaries.
The Bank Also Launched Sri Lanka's First Fully Automated Check Deposit Machine In 2018. In 2018, The Bank Also Achieved Another Feat By Launching UnionPay Cards, Making Sri Lanka The 51st Country To Launch A UnionPay Card System. In 2020, The Bank Launched A Missed Call Alert Service For Credit Card Holders Under "Missed Caller Card Balance Service". The Commercial Bank Also Launched A QR Code Payment Option Called ComBank Q +, Making It Easy For Cardholders To Pay Outstanding Credit Card Dues. It Also Became The First Bank In Sri Lanka To Enable QR Code Payment To Pay Credit Card Bills, And Also Became The First QR Code-based Payment App To Be Launched On The LANKAQR Platform.
In 2021, The Bank Opened A Banking Counter At The Department Of Immigration And Migration For The Convenience Of Customers And Employees. In 2021, The Bank Announced A Partnership With A Fintech Startup Called DirectPay To Provide Internet Payment Gateway Support And Operate As An Acquiring Bank For A Cashless Payment Solution For Businesses. In 2021, The Commercial Bank Joined Hands With The University Of Moratuwa To Offer Educational Loans At Preferential Rates To The University's Graduate Students.
In 2022, The Bank Launched The First Time Home Buyers And Builders Program, Which Offers A Free Or Discounted Diminishing Term Guarantee Policy To Eliminate Or Reduce The Cost Burden Of Loan Protection Insurance. In 2022, The Bank Also Launched Another Lending Program Called "Anagi Women's Bank", Which Was Designed In Partnership With The International Finance Corporation To Specifically Support And Empower Women. The Bank Has Maintained A Bancassurance Partnership With Union Assurance For Almost 10 Years, While Customers Of Commercial Banks Receive Insurance-related Products Directly From Union Assurance.
The Bank Launched Its Pioneering Digital Product "Flash" To Facilitate Convenient Digital Banking Practices.
Subsidiary
In July 2003, CBC Became The First Sri Lankan Private Bank To Operate Abroad By Acquiring Two Branches Of Cre ́ Dit Agricole In Dhaka And Chittagong, Bangladesh. ( Suez Bank Of India Opened A Branch In Bangladesh In 1980. Also In 2003, IFC Purchased 15% Of The Bank's Equity From Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation.
In 2011, The Credit Rating Of Commercial Bank's Bangladesh Operations Was Upgraded To A Long-term Credit Rating Of AAA By Credit Rating Information And Services Limited. Prior To Receiving The AAA Rating, Commercial Bank's Bangladesh Operations Maintained An AA + Rating For Three Consecutive Years Between 2007 And 2010. Commercial Bank Of Bangladesh Was Named The Best Foreign Bank In Bangladesh And Was Named The Most Sustainable Bank In Bangladesh In 2021.
Awards And Honours
The Bank Has Been Listed As One Of The 10 Most Admired Companies In Sri Lanka In 2018, 2019, 2020 And 2021. Euromoney Has Ranked Commercial Bank As The Best Bank In Sri Lanka In 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 And 2021.
In 2019, The Bank Received A Total Of 53 Awards Both Locally And Internationally. Of The 53 Awards Received, The Bank Received The 2019 Bank Of The Year Award From The Banker Magazine In The UK And The 2019 Best Bank In Sri Lanka Award From Global Finance Magazine In The US. According To Statistics Published By Brand Finance, The Bank Was Named The Strongest Banking Brand In Sri Lanka In 2020 And 2021.
In February 2022, The Bank Was Awarded The Overall Award For Best Sustainability Report Of 2021 At The ACCA Sustainability Reporting Awards.
Controversies
In 2021, The Financial Intelligence Unit Of The Central Bank Of Sri Lanka Fined The Bank Rs 3 Million For Failing To Comply With The Anti-Money Laundering Act
