The only bank in Sri Lanka to achieve this feat
The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has been ranked among the Top 1000 Banks of the World in 2018, and remains the only Bank in the country to be on this prestigious ranking for eight consecutive years.
The Top 1000 Banks of the World are ranked by the UK’s ‘The Banker’ magazine on the basis of Tier I capital, assets, capital assets ratio, pre-tax profits, return on capital, return on assets, BIS (Basel) Capital ratio, NPL to total loans, loans to assets ratio, risk weighted assets (RWA) to total assets (TA) ratio and cost income ratio.
Commenting on Commercial Bank’s longstanding presence in the ranking, the Bank’s Managing Director/CEO Mr Jegan Durairatnam said: “A ranking in the Top 1,000 could be approximated to being among the top 6% of the banks of the world, which is extremely respectable. Holding one’s position within that elite group for eight years means that we are maintaining growth rates that are keeping pace with or are exceeding those of other leading international banks, despite the challenges we face.”
The top four positions in the 2018 global ranking are held by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of China and Agricultural Bank of China.
For the Financial year 2017, Commercial Bank reported total assets of Rs 1.143 trillion, gross income of Rs 115.6 billion, net profit of Rs 16.5 billion, a deposits base of Rs 850.1 billion and total loans & receivables of Rs 754.7 billion.
In terms of Capital Adequacy Ratios, the Bank’s Total Tier 1 capital ratio (with capital buffers) at 12.11% as at 31st December 2017 was well above the 7.75% required under Basel III. The Total Capital Ratio of 15.75% at the end of 2017 was comfortably above the Basel III requirement of 11.75%.
Sri Lanka’s largest and most awarded private bank, the Commercial Bank of Ceylon plays a pivotal role in the economy of the country, especially in terms of empowering small and medium industries. In the past year it paid Rs. 11.5 billion in taxes to the government and lent Rs.131.8 billion to SMEs. The Bank also channelled 10.56% of the country’s imports and 18.58% of its exports in 2017, and was the Sri Lankan bank with the largest footprint in Asia.
The Top 1000 World Banks ranking is compiled from a database of over 5,000 of the world’s biggest banks and is acknowledged by the global financial community as the definitive guide to bank rankings and analysis. Begun in 1970, the ranking is widely used all year round by senior bankers, corporate treasurers, corporate financiers, the professional services community and many others in their day to day decisions relating to banking.
Commercial Bank operates a network of 261 branches and 775 ATMs in Sri Lanka. The Bank has won more than 30 international and local awards in 2016 and 2017 and has over the years received multiple awards as Sri Lanka’s Best Bank, Best Trade Bank, Strongest Bank and Most Respected Bank from a number of local and international institutions and publications.
Commercial Bank’s overseas operations encompass Bangladesh, where the Bank operates 19 outlets, Myanmar, where it has a Representative Office in Yangon, the Maldives, where the Bank has a fully-fledged Tier I Bank with a majority stake and Italy, where the Bank operates its own money transfer service.