Since recently the two State Commercial Banks, specially the more senior one seems to be spending a lot of money in gaining marketing experience. This would be alright with the large number of private Commercial Banks operating in the country as they face adverse remarks at times and ill effects due to downward fluctuations in the Share Market. It was only very recently that Her Excellency the President herself made adverse remarks over the TV on a certain private Commercial Bank which carries the name of our continent.

The State Banks on the contrary have business thrust on them due to Government ownership, Treasury & Central Bank Supervision and subjected to audit by the Auditor General, and the resultant public trust that is generated. Most of the Government business is also channelled through the State Banks. They should therefore devise methods to improve their customer services which is not that satisfactory.

The most senior office of the State Bank where I maintain my current account takes at least 10 days after the end of the month to send my current account statement, though the branch is fully automated. It has provision for twelve Teller points but rarely more than two Tellers are in operation at a given time. This particular bank had a Pay office in the Sri Lanka Gem & Jwellery Exchange premises at Galle Road Kollupitiya which was closed down nearly ten years ago, but the markings on the glass door offering various types of services to the public still exist misleading the locals and foreigners alike.

The State Banks should therefore concentrate more on improving their services to the existing customers which would be the bestform of expanding their customer base. They should try to cut down expenditure and narrow the gap between lending and deposit rates.

"A satisfied customer is the best advertisement for any institution" should never be forgotten.
Mervyn Herath
Ragama