Banking

Commercial Bank opens Agriculture and Micro Finance Unit

Sri Lanka's largest private Bank, the Commercial Bank of Ceylon has opened its seventh Agriculture and Micro Finance Unit (AMFU), stepping up its support to farmers and micro level entrepreneurs.

Located in Hingurakgoda, the seventh AMFU of the Bank was declared open by the Assistant General Manager Personal Banking/SME, Chandana Gunasekera. Six such units established previously are located in Narammala, Kandy, Anuradhapura, Kilinochchi, Bandarawela and Wellawaya.

Commercial Bank Assistant General Manager Personal Banking/SME Chandana Gunasekera presents the key of a new tractor to the recipient of a loan.

These units help the Bank to identify specific needs of people who require assistance either to start new businesses or to expand existing ones. In addition to fulfilling the financial requirements of entrepreneurs, these units also take care of nurturing Micro entrepreneurs, enabling them to be competitive in all aspects.

The linkages established by the Bank with a number of private and public sector institutions which provide different types of services to agriculturists and micro entrepreneurs are used to nurture entrepreneurs in these categories.

Borrowers of the Bank are also educated on Business Management, Financial Literacy, Marketing, Quality improvement of products, Resource Saving, Productivity enhancement and Technology advancement through capacity building programmes.

These programmes are conducted by the staff of AMFUs directly as well as in collaboration with external organizations.

Delakshan Hettiarachchi, Commercial Bank's Chief Manager Development Credit said: "The aim of the Bank is to bring Micro level entrepreneurs into the formal banking system and help them to grow their businesses under our supervision and guidance.""Our support through these Agriculture and Micro Financing Units during the past year has encouraged many borrowers to expand their businesses, and we expect to extend the services of AMFUs to other potential areas in future" he said.

Citing an example, Hettiarachchi disclosed that the Bank had made arrangements for Processors and Exporters to directly purchase raw materials from the producers without going through a third-party supplier, resulting in an increase in the income of producers. The Bank has also financially facilitated agriculturists to expand their cultivation activities.

Furthermore, an advisory service on advanced technology in Agriculture is provided to borrowers by the staff of AMFUs who are qualified in the field of Agriculture.

Commercial Bank has introduced various lending schemes to support people engaged in different economic activities.

One such lending scheme is extension of loans to permanent employees of estates to engage in dairy farming.

Commercial Bank is the only Sri Lankan Bank listed in the world's Top 1,000 Banks.

It operates a network of 216 service points in Sri Lanka and the country's single largest network of 516 ATMs.

The Bank has been adjudged 'Best Bank in Sri Lanka' for 14 consecutive years by 'Global Finance' Magazine and has won multiple awards as the country's best bank from 'The Banker,' 'FinanceAsia,' 'Euromoney' and 'Trade Finance' magazines.