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| Tuesday, 1 July 2003 |
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HNB promoting alliances in SAARC countries - Rienzie Wijetilleke by Shirajiv Sirimane The Managing Director and CEO Hatton National Bank (HNB) Rienzie T. Wijetilleke said that the bank is promoting the idea of countries in the SAARC region forming alliances similar to the European Union and in that scenario the Hatton National Bank aims to be a major international financial player. He said that the ongoing peace initiative is an ideal launching pad to revamp the economy and added that the squabbling between the two main political parties must stop and they should unite to achieve a common goal.
"The country should not miss out on this opportunity," he said. The Managing Director said that politicians must ensure that the LTTE should not go back to war and they must encourage the LTTE to take to the political mainstream. "If there is permanent peace, Sri Lanka can achieve rapid economic progress", he said. Wijetilleke said that as a priority the government must ensure a better and faster road network to Colombo in a bid to ensure that commodities for export reach the exit points in good shape. He also suggested that the government should have a definite plan and also appoint a strong task force to distribute the funds the country received from the Japan donor conference. He said that some opposition members too should be included in the task force. He said that when the funds start to be distributed to needy areas there would a tremendous infrastructure development specially in the power, roads, telecommunication and housing industry and added that in such a backdrop all the banks will benefit. He said that the bank started in the rainy hill country town of Hatton in 1888, to serve the flourishing tea industry that produced the country's most famous export. He said that the town was named Hatton since there was a thin drizzle almost everyday and people were forced to put on hats. It was a fully owned British bank until in 1948 with independence, Brown & Company Ltd., a leader in the engineering business, bought the interests of the original investors and fittingly restructured the bank with greater Sri Lankan participation. The Hatton Bank was managed by Edward J. Cooray and in 1970 the Bank bought the National Grindlays Bank and changed their name to Hatton National Bank and thus began the voyage of what was to become a truly national bank that would grow to be recognised as Sri Lanka's Flagship among commercial banks. In 1974 the bank acquired the Colombo branches of Mercantile Bank, 1988 Emirates Bank, 1996 Indisuez Bank and in 2001 HNB took over the Habib Bank. Wijetilleke said that the decision to build the most modern banking complex in Sri Lanka was taken in 1997 when the country's financial situation was on the decline. "But we knew that the country's future was going to be bright and invested Rs. 5 billion to put up this building." He said that the management is now happy with their investment as it had given them a unique identity and a better corporate image. He said that today the bank leads the way in all the financial products that are being offered in Sri Lanka and they will maintain it in the future as well. |
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