Media Centre

 

 

Art and essay competitions for children and musical shows featuring popular artistes were the principal activities at select branches of Commercial Bank on Saturday 8^th June, as the Bank’s ‘Savings Fiesta’ entered its second colourful week.

An event organised by the Galle Regional Office of Commercial Bank drew hundreds of people including many distinguished Galle residents such as academics, doctors and other professionals, to the Galle Town Hall. The Bank’s Regional Manager of the Southern Region Mr. Delakshan Hettiarachchi conducted a lecture on the “Importance of Saving” while Professor Nishantha Nanayakkara of the Moratuwa University delivered a lecture on Motivation. The Bank’s Managing Director/CEO Mr. Ravi Dias addressed the gathering and presented gifts to the children who won the essay competition.

Commercial Bank’s Matara City branch and Ratnapura branch conducted art competitions for children as part of the Savings Fiesta. Similar events will take place at Commercial Bank’s Jaffna and Killinochchi branches on Saturday, 15^th June.

Apart from the main events, branches in the Southern region as well as around the country conducted their own activities for the Savings Fiesta, which included customer visits, event sponsorships and savings walks.

The principal objective of the Savings Fiesta is to promote savings and create an opportunity for the Bank to generate greater awareness of the many products and services it offers. All new accounts opened with Commercial Bank in June 2013 are eligible for an ATM cum Debit Card free of charge as well as gifts from Sri Lanka’s largest private bank.

In its second week, the campaign is attracting many new customers to the Bank and branches are actively promoting the savings habit amongst the general public.

Pictured here are some of the activities that took place on the second weekend of the Commercial Bank Savings Fiesta.

 

The Commercial Bank has renovated 39 lamp posts lining the road to the historic Rangiri Dambulu Vihara at Dambulla, revisiting one of its community projects of 15 years ago. The Bank originally built the ornate lamp posts in 1998. A recent inspection conducted as part of the Bank’s commitment to sustaining its projects, revealed that the lamp posts were in need of repairs and repainting. The Bank therefore undertook to restore the lamp posts to their pristine condition. Picture shows Commercial Bank’s AGM Properties and Services Mr. Noel Wickramasinghe unveiling a commemorative plaque at the site in the presence of the Chief Priest of the Rangiri Dambulu Viharaya Venerable Inamaluwe Sumangala Thero, Mrs. Priyanthi Perera, CSR Coordinator of the Bank and Mr. Manoj de Silva, Manager the Bank’s Dambulla Branch.

 

New accounts opened during the month to receive free ATM/Debit cards and gifts

 

Branches and service points of the Commercial Bank country-wide went festive on an unprecedented scale on Saturday, 1^st June 2013, when Sri Lanka’s largest private bank launched a month-long ‘Savings Fiesta.’

In a first, all 232 branches and service points were kept open on a Saturday, and customers were greeted by festive decor as the Savings Fiesta got underway.

At ten locations, Ward Place, Bambalapitiya, Ratmalana, Kotahena, Kottawa, Piliyandala, Negombo, Kalutara, Avissawella and Kegalle, senior corporate management including the Bank’s Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer were present in person to launch this promotion.

“While our principal objective is to promote savings, the Savings Fiesta initiative will also help our branch staff to renew customer relations and get closer to the communities they serve,” said Mr. Jegan Durairatnam, Commercial Bank’s Chief Operating Officer. “It also provides an opportunity for the Bank to create greater awareness of the many products and services it offers.”

Commercial Bank’s Deputy General Manager Personal Banking Mr. S. Renganathan said: “Savings play an important role in any economy, in addition to providing funds for future needs and contingencies. In addition to encouraging saving with one of the Top 1000 Banks of the world, the Bank will launch a new Current Account for executives and entrepreneurs, enhancing its already extensive portfolio of products and services.”

He said the Bank also expected to attract new customer segments as a result of this initiative.

Events similar to those conducted on the day of the launch of the Savings Fiesta are to be repeated at selected Commercial Bank branches on the two following Saturdays in June, the Bank said. These are Galle, Matara and Ratnapura on 8^th June, Jaffna and Kilinochchi on 15^th June and Kandy and Kegalle on 22^nd June. In addition to these events, all Commercial Bank branches across the country will have special events at which their staff will reach out to customers to encourage the habit of saving.

Commercial Bank has also announced that all new accounts opened in June 2013 will have the option of receiving an ATM cum Debit Card free of charge as well as gifts throughout the month.

The Savings Fiesta is the biggest country-wide promotion launched by the Bank in recent times. The Bank’s branches have organised their own activities in support of the promotion, including visits to key institutions in their areas, throughout June. Many prominent personalities who are customers of the Bank are expected to visit the branches during the promotion period to interact with fellow customers.

The only Sri Lankan bank to be represented in the Top 1000 Banks of the World for two consecutive years, the Commercial Bank operates a network of 232 branches and service points in Sri Lanka and the country’s single largest ATM network of 564 terminals. The Bank has been adjudged the Best Bank in Sri Lanka by Global Finance magazine for a record 15 successive years and has also won multiple awards as the country’s best bank from The Banker, FinanceAsia, Euromoney and Trade Finance magazines. The Bank’s Assets portfolio crossed Rs. 500 billion and Profit after Tax exceeded Rs. 10 billion in 2012.

Photo caption:Pictured here are scenes from some of the activities on the opening day of Commercial Bank’s ‘Savings Fiesta’ in which senior management including the Bank’s Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer participated.