The Commercial Bank of Ceylon won four awards for its 2020 Annual Report at the CA Sri Lanka awards, including two Gold Awards – the Bank’s 16th Edmund J. Cooray Memorial Trophy for the Best Annual Report among Banking Institutions since 2001, and the Gold for Corporate Governance Disclosure.
Reaffirming the Bank’s consistency in financial reporting excellence, the report – themed ‘A century of experience. A year of reinvention’– was also recognised for ‘Overall Excellence in Annual Financial Reporting’ with a Bronze award and won the Bronze for ‘Integrated Reporting: Best Disclosure on Capital Management.’ Incidentally, this is also the 16th occasion that Commercial Bank has been ranked among the top three companies overall for financial reporting since 2001.
Commenting on this latest series of accolades, Commercial Bank`s Managing Director /Group CEO Mr S Renganathan said: “The Annual Report is the single most important tool in the corporate communications arsenal. Pressures brought about by the unprecedented operating environment coupled with the increasing demands and expectations of stakeholders including society and the environment, continue to increase its importance. In the circumstances, guidance about the future with disclosures that demonstrate the robustness of the business model and the ability to continue to create value with the best interests of all the stakeholders at heart in the short, medium and long term is essential. We are therefore delighted to once again be recognised as the best in our sector for the 16th time.”
The CA Sri Lanka awards recognise effectiveness in communication of financial and non-financial information to stakeholders and strict compliance with legislative requirements and accepted accounting best practices. The awards programme evaluates the organisation’s ability to effectively communicate organisational objectives, highlights, performance, personnel and management to an intended audience, and is considered a platform which encourages excellence in the presentation of information covering transparency, social accountability and good governance among diverse Sri Lankan business entities.
Commercial Bank’s award-winning 2020 Annual Report is a carbon neutral document and is also available on the Bank’s website to promote digital usage. Notably, the Commercial Bank of Ceylon is Sri Lanka’s first 100% carbon neutral bank, a status it achieved earlier this year.
The first Sri Lankan bank to be listed among the Top 1000 Banks of the World and the only Sri Lankan bank to be so listed for 11 years consecutively, Commercial Bank operates a network of 268 branches and 931 automated machines in Sri Lanka. Commercial Bank is the largest lender to Sri Lanka’s SME sector and is a leader in digital innovation in the country’s Banking sector. The Bank’s overseas operations encompass Bangladesh, where the Bank operates 19 outlets; Myanmar, where it has a Microfinance company in Nay Pyi Taw; and the Maldives, where the Bank has a fully-fledged Tier I Bank with a majority stake.