Standard Chartered offering SME core business

Sanjeevi JAYASURIYA

Standard Chartered Bank introduced a strengthened banking offering to SME sector providing benefit to entrepreneurs mainly in the Western Province.

The novel service introduced by the Standard Chartered Bank is to further strengthened the SME proposition and reiterate its commitment to develop this market segment and unparallel service.

The SME banking service for the Sri Lankan market was introduced by the Bank two years ago and in keeping with the country’s key focus on SME sector the comprehensive service will facilitate enhance growth in the sector, Standard Chartered Bank Consumer Banking Head Sanjaya Wijemanne said.

We are constantly looking at innovation and value adding services to offer our clients. This strengthened SME offering is in recognition of the importance of SMEs to grow in a robust and sustainable economy and to offer a platform for entrepreneurs, he said at the service launch held in Colombo yesterday.

The strengthened SME offering caters specifically to the needs of SMEs and aims to make available personalized and comprehensive solutions. The package also include specialized advisory and dedicated services by allowing smaller enterprises to draw on the strengths of the Bank’s consumer and wholesale banking businesses.

One of the most exciting features of this new offering is the Bank’s fully integrated online banking platform, Straight2Bank which is a customized, dedicated online banking solutions for SME sector. These online banking solutions give SMEs a choice to work with the platform which best suite their needs. The user-friendly, customized features will allow entrepreneurs to conduct business transactions smoothly and expediently at any time from any location with a dedicated hotline for SMEs.

We will be targeting an increased revenue line from the consumer banking and already the SMEs contribute 25 percent with plans to increase up to 50 percent within three years. As the country’s SME sector has a diverse level of financial needs the new service is expected to have a good demand, Standard Chartered Distribution and SME Banking General Manager Chaya Jayawardena said.

The service will concentrate mainly in the Western Province with plans to adopt super market model and online banking in meeting needs of SMEs outside the province, she said.

The SME banking will be considered as a core business and has an emerging trend where sophistication in services demand is growing. The SMEs have relatively an easy access to international markets and the approach has been shifted from inward focus to international markets that would create a healthy demand for the new service offered, she said.