Best bank: Hatton National Bank
After years of political upheaval and economic crisis, Sri Lanka showed signs of stabilization in the second half of 2023. Despite the challenging landscape, Hatton National Bank (HNB) achieved record growth in the review period and cemented its position as Sri Lanka’s best bank.
HNB reported its highest-ever profit after tax in 2023, a significant 43% growth versus 2022. The bank’s loan book, which had contracted by 7.1% during the first half of 2023, recorded a growth of 5.7% in the second half of the year.
In the third quarter of 2023, HNB surpassed SLRs1.5 trillion ($4.9 billion) in total deposits, up from SLRs1 trillion in just 10 quarters. This led to a market share of 10.7% in 2023, up from 10.5% in 2022.
Fee income grew, primarily from card-related commissions, which increased by 37% year on year. Bancassurance, digital banking and self-service machines also contributed to the growth in fee income.
HNB’s digital performance in 2023 was equally impressive, with a 39% increase in digital revenue, a 47% surge in total digital customer users and 60% growth in digital transactions. The bank’s digital adoption rate was central to its success, with 22% of customers onboarded to digital platforms during the year.
Best investment bank: NDB Investment Bank
NDB Investment Bank remains the undisputed leader in Sri Lanka’s investment banking market. Its expertise has been pivotal in guiding clients through economic and political turbulence, both domestically and in the broader south Asian and African regions.
In 2023, NDB Investment Bank facilitated fundraising of $61.3 million, comprising $17 million in equity markets and $44.3 million in debt markets. The bank managed two out of the three equity IPOs in the country, as well as an M&A transaction valued at $3.1 million and two rights issues amounting to $0.9 million.
Best international bank: HSBC
HSBC grew profit before tax by 188% in 2023 to SLR38.2 billion ($126 million).
It digitized its supply chain financing facilities and enabled a complete end-to-end digital account opening for customers. HSBCnet’s penetration reached 96% for cash management and 88% for trade-related transactions in 2023.
HSBC also worked on Sri Lanka’s first sustainability-linked loan and 12 environmental, social and governance (ESG)-related deals during 2023. It carried out awareness sessions for small and medium-sized enterprise clients on key ESG related topics and partnered with IUCN Sri Lanka to restore 125 hectares of degraded land under Project CORE, with the aim reducing 30,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions by 2030.
The bank invested SLR40 million to assist women entrepreneurs in partnership with local organizations. This two-year project started in July 2023 and aims to provide training for 150 women-owned SMEs and equip them with resources including seed capital.
Best digital bank: People’s Bank
People’s Bank reached two million digital retail customers in 2023. The bank’s mobile banking apps People’s Wave and People’s Pay saw transactions reach 100 million with a value of SLR1 trillion ($3.3 billion).
The People’s Wave mobile banking app promotes financial inclusion, with over 74% of its active users outside Sri Lanka’s western province. It also introduced digital solutions for collection and payments for universities, educational institutes and government entities.
The bank simplified its Lanka QR registration process and saw digital deposits surpass SLR723 billion and digital loans reach SLR16.5 billion in 2023. It increased its corporate digital user base from 9,700 in 2022 to over 13,100 in 2023.
Best bank for SMEs: Hatton National Bank
Hatton National Bank launched initiatives targeting credit and digital storefronts to support Sri Lankan small and medium-sized enterprises in a challenging economic environment.
It launched a new transaction banking platform with enhanced financial management tools. It also partnered with SLT Mobitel to offer SMEs free access to Cochchi.lk, an online trading platform. The platform helps SME customers to create online stores.
The bank obtained a $6 million credit guarantee through USAID and launched SLR5 billion ($16.5 million) of relief funds to provide working capital to SMEs clients. It also started workshops tailored for women entrepreneurs with a focus on banking products, financial literacy and export opportunities.
Overall, the bank saw SME deposits grow by 8% in 2023 to SLR276 billion and its SME division saw a significant 61% year-on-year increase in total operating income in 2023.
Best bank for ESG: Commercial Bank of Ceylon
Commercial Bank of Ceylon’s green finance portfolio grew by 7.8% to SLR17.8 billion ($58.8 million) last year, with its green lending portfolio accounting for more than 2% of its loan book by the year end. Around 55% of this total is financing renewable energy projects and 16% supporting climate smart agriculture.
These activities achieved a total reduction of more than 233,000 tonnes of CO₂ by the end of 2023, up from 229,752 tonnes in 2022.
Commercial Bank of Ceylon has also made considerable efforts to introduce sustainable policies including recycling, the use of renewable energy, solar panel installations and a reduction in paper usage. In 2023, solar panel installations rose from 71 to 82 and 27,000 A4 bundles of paper were used in 2023, versus 51,500 in 2022.
Best bank for corporate responsibility: Sampath Bank
Sampath Bank supported Sri Lankan society through initiatives in agriculture, education, healthcare, and poverty alleviation in 2023. It invested SLR91.3 million ($302,000) in 84 corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects, which benefited over 123,000 Sri Lankans. It also mobilized 3,174 employees to volunteer in CSR projects.
One initiative was its Agri-Entrepreneurship Development programme, which helps local farmers develop their agricultural practices. The programme benefited a total of 448 participants. It also deployed its WePay app at the Wayamba Isura farmers’ market and provided savings accounts to merchants to facilitate financial inclusion. The programme focuses on women entrepreneurs and had a total of 4,200 beneficiaries last year.
Education outreach involved a corporate leadership programme for school leavers and undergraduates, to develop their skills in the banking sector. The bank invested SLR117 million through the programme and conducted 12 career fairs and career guidance sessions in 2023. It also donated more than 10,000 books to the Today’s Reader programme across five schools.
Best bank for diversity and inclusion: National Development Bank
National Development Bank (NDB) made progress in improving female representation in the workplace and fostering an employee-friendly working environment in 2023. The bank reached 43% female representation during the year, with four of the 10 board directors being woman.
Its flagship initiative, Sri Lanka Vanithabhimana, is focused on recognizing high-performing women. Twenty-four finalists from over 2,700 applicants were recognized with awards in 2023.
The bank also launched its Fearlessly Female project in 2023, which was dedicated to empowering female staff. It increased its maternity leave to 100 working days to increase female participation in the workforce.
NDB Araliya was another initiative launched for the bank’s female clients and included several awareness programmes, workshops and customer engagement activities conducted via the branch network and digital platforms.
The bank also invested SLR39.3 million ($130,000) in job training for its workforce, with 2,749 employees undergoing more than 152,000 hours of training during the year.
Best bank for corporates: National Development Bank
National Development Bank focused on improving its supply chain services for corporate clients in 2023.
It launched its supply chain finance programme and enrolled 511 distributors in the Distributor Financing programme with an approximate portfolio value of SLR3.7 billion ($12.2 million) by year end.
Demand for domestic corporate loans was down over the year, so the bank targeted cross-border financing by extending its credit facilities to the hospitality industry in the Maldives and to agriculture-based projects in Indonesia.
The bank launched NEOS Corporate, its digital banking platform for corporate clients. It recorded pre-tax profit of SLR10.9 billion and grew total operating income by 5% to SLR44.9 billion in 2023.
