Amitha Gooneratne

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon, Sri Lanka’s benchmark private sector bank, has once again been internationally recognised as the country’s ‘Best Bank’ by one of the world’s most respected financial publications, Global Finance (USA) for a record ninth successive year.

The Bbank was chosen the best among local banks for its strong strategy of attracting and servicing customers, its asset growth, profitability, strategic relationships, customer service, competitive pricing and innovative products. The ranking follows an in-depth analysis by Global Finance editors with inputs from industry analysts, corporate executives and banking consultants.

In the magazine’s latest annual survey of the Best Emerging Market Banks, Commercial Bank was named alongside other well-known establishments from the Asian region like HSBC, ICICI Bank - India, Habib Bank of Pakistan and China Construction Bank.

The indepth evaluation by Global Finance covers banks in all major countries in Asia, Middle East, Africa, Latin America as well as Central and Eastern Europe.

"We are honoured to win this award," said Amitha Gooneratne, Managing Director, Commercial Bank. "With this, the ninth successive award, Commercial Bank has established a consistency of performance that is unmatched in the region."

"This award represents the international market’s recognition of Commercial Bank’s capabilities and leadership, and acknowledges our strong commitment to providing an excellent service to both corporate and individual customers, while maximising shareholder returns," he added.

This is the 14th year that Global Finance has selected top banking performers in emerging markets.

Global Finance, which enters its 20th year of publishing in 2007, has 50,000 subscribers and over 250,000 readers in more than 158 countries.

This audience includes chairmen, presidents, CEOs, CFOs, treasurers, and other financial officers responsible for making investments and strategic business decisions for large global companies and financial institutions.

Global Finance also targets the 8000 key portfolio investors who control over 80 per cent of all assets under professional management.

Established in 1969, Commercial Bank is Sri Lanka’s leading bank, with dominant positions in consumer banking, treasury and securities markets.

Commercial Bank also has an extensive on-line real time network of delivery points consisting of 150 branches and the single largest network of 269 ATMs. It also operates five fully-fledged branches and two booths in Bangladesh.

The Commercial Bank Group ended 2006 as the largest indigenous private sector bank in Sri Lanka.

Its stellar performance saw pre-tax profits soar to Rs 4.321 billion. Post-tax profits stood at Rs 2.072 billion at end 2006, while total deposits rose to Rs 157.634 billion, a healthy growth of 23.54 per cent.

The group’s total assets grew by 24.38 per cent to reach Rs 224.060 billion in the year.