Sri Lanka’s leading retail bank, HNB PLC, bestowed scholarships and cash prizes to the value of Rs 20 million to over 2,500 Singithi account holders who successfully passed the 2019 Grade 5 Scholarship exams as part of its flagship national scholarship scheme, ‘Diri Daru’.
Currently the largest scholarship fund of its kind offered by any Sri Lankan bank, the HNB Diri Daru scholarship was recently revamped to provide all Singithi account holders who successfully pass the Grade 5 scholarships examination with cash prizes.
This year too, students sitting the October exam who maintain a minimum account balance of Rs. 10,000 will also be entitled to a cash prize of Rs. 5,000, which will be doubled (Rs 10,000) if a standing order is in place for the account, if they achieve the set cut-off marks.
“The children of today are the citizens of tomorrow. As such a great education becomes the foundation for a truly prosperous and empowered nation. We are therefore incredibly proud to be able to expand our support for Sri Lanka’s next generation of leaders.
“HNB was the first to introduce a branded minor savings account in 1991, and over the years, we have embarked on key initiatives to inculcate the savings habit among the student population. We began by offering scholarships to Grade 5 students and have now gradually expanded to include high achieving GCE and London O/L and A/L students. Last year we further expanded the programme to include cash rewards for all students who successfully completed Grade 5 scholarship exams while meeting the set criteria,” HNB Senior Manager – Deposits, Viranga Gamage said.
The scholarship scheme extended to GCE and London O/L and A/L student will offer a cash prize of Rs. 25,000, if the HNB account holder passes the exam successfully. HNB will also provide 100 O/L students and 50 A/L students the cash prize if an account balance of Rs. 25,000 and 35,000 is maintained.
Parents can open a Singithi Lama/ HNB Teen Account on behalf of their child with a minimum deposit of Rs. 500 to be eligible for HNB Diri Daru scholarships.
HNB has utilised the Singithi and HNB Teen products to inculcate the savings habit among young Sri Lankans and created excitement to save consistently by linking their habit to consistent and tangible rewards. The bank aims to enhance financial literacy among Sri Lanka’s youth and provide the next generation with the most valuable gifts, a sense of responsibility and control over the savings, which in turn will guarantee a stable and robust foundation for a bright and prosperous future.
HNB is a pioneer in minor savings, offering a comprehensive range of products designed to provide the most value to its youngest customers. The Singithi Kirikatiyo Account is specially designed for newborn children and can be opened by parents within three months from the childs date of birth. The account offers one of the highest interest rates and will gift a free deposit of Rs. 1,000 at the time of opening from HNB in addition to entitling account holders with special gifts on their birthday relative to the account balance maintained. On reaching the age of five years, each account will be automatically converted to an HNB Singithi account and into an HNB Teen account at the age of 13.
With 252 customer centres across the country, HNB is one of Sri Lanka’s largest, most technologically innovative banks having won local and global recognition for its efforts to drive forward a new paradigm in digital banking. Over the recent past, the bank has continuously won prestigious accolades including being declared Best Retail Bank in Sri Lanka by the Asian Banker Magazine. Locally, HNB leads the Business Today Top 10 rankings and also claimed seven awards at the Best Corporate Citizen Sustainability Awards 2019. The first Sri Lankan bank to obtain an international credit rating, HNB is rated on par with the sovereign by Moody’s Investors Service, and the national long term rating of HNB revised upward by two notches to AA+ (lka) recently by Fitch Ratings (Lanka) Ltd.