Com. Bank soars into world’s Top 1000

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has become the first Sri Lankan bank to be ranked among the Top 1000 Banks of the World on capital adequacy and soundness, achieving yet another milestone in its chequered history.

The Bank’s entry into this prestigious list at No. 950 is based on its Tier One Capital strength, which is the most important benchmark for assessing the stability of a bank.

Equally if not more significant is that in terms of Financial Soundness, the Commercial Bank has performed even better by being ranked at 155th position in the world. Compiled by The Banker, a premier magazine for the world’s investment, retail and commercial banking sectors, the list of Top 1000 Banks of the World is headed by HSBC Holdings of UK, and has in its top 10, globally significant banks such as Bank of America, Citigroup, Mitsubishi UFJ, Credit Agricole and other leading names.

“Having a Sri Lankan bank in the Top 1000 is a noteworthy and timely achievement for Sri Lanka’s banking industry,” Commercial Bank’s Managing Director Amitha Gooneratne said.

“Commercial Bank has always focused on getting its fundamentals right, even in the most difficult macroeconomic conditions, and this has been one of the cornerstones of our stability.”

“These are challenging times even for the major financial institutions of the world.

“The adequacy of capital to support the assets, thereby ultimately offering greater protection to depositors, is becoming even more significant in the present turbulence in financial markets which has not as yet had much of an impact on Sri Lankan Banks.”

“Of course, Sri Lanka has largely avoided this contagion mainly due to the prudent policies on capital transfers and supervision of banks exercised by Central Bank,” Gooneratne said.

“Some recent events in our country have led people to be more conscious about the reputation and the integrity of financial institutions that they deal with.

This ranking re-affirms our stability and would therefore be important to our customers and a matter of pride for our staff.”

According to The Banker Report, Commercial Banks Assets amounted to US $ 2,469 million and based on Assets, the Bank is ranked at No 948th out of this 1000.