K. Sivagananathan Memorial Trust Awards

TRUST AWARDS: The Annual Awards ceremony of the K. Sivagananathan Memorial Trust was held at the Bank of Ceylon auditorium yesterday.

The K. Sivagananathan Memorial Trust has conducted two previous Awards ceremonies giving out over 75 Awards and this is its third awards ceremony in 4 years.

A non-profit organisation, it is dedicated to providing assistance to financially disadvantaged students pursuing higher studies in the field of banking and finance. This has made it possible as well as encouraged students to develop and educate themselves and pursue careers in this field.

Last year alone 60 Awards were given out to all those candidates who got the highest marks in each subject of the Advanced Certificate in Banking and Finance (ACBF), Diploma in Banking and Finance (DCF) and Certificate in Banking & Finance (CBF) Examinations.

The KSMT has had eminent speakers on its panel to deliver the Memorial Oration in the past years and this year is no different. The Memorial Oration titled "Services Sector - The Way Forward" was delivered by Prof. Satish Shinde, Managing Partner, Risk Management Associates' Pune, India and former Professor, National Institute of Bank Management, Pune, India.

Prof. Shinde has 18 years practical banking experience and 10 years in training and consultancy. He holds a Ph.D. in Finance from the University of Pune, India and an MBA (Finance) and M.Sc.(Statistics) from University of Pune. Prof. Shinde's area of speciality is in corporate lending, project finance, infrastructure finance and credit risk management.

He has also done recent research and training work in the areas of 'Cash Flow Based Lending Approach', 'Lending to Services Sector', and 'Analyzing Bank's Credit Culture'.

The chief guest was former Governor, Central Bank of Sri Lanka and current Chairman, Bartleet Trans Capital Ltd. A. S. Jayawardena. Since setting up, the KSMT has not only provided financial assistance for education but has also supported other charity projects such as the distribution of books in schools in the Nawalapitiya area as well as supplies provided to the Hindu College in Ratmalana and the Missionaries of Charity, Moratuwa (an orphanage run by the Mother Theresa Sister Home).