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Cardholders of the Commercial Bank of Ceylon have once again been offered fabulous options to shop at attractive discounted prices this festive season.

Between 15th and 28th December, Credit and Shopping Debit cardholders of the Bank will receive a 20% discount when they shop at any of the outlets of Spring & Summer, a 15% discount at any of the outlets of Fashion Bug, Cool Planet, New Sriyani Dress Point and DSI and a 10%  discount at the CIB shopping centres.

Commercial Bank cardholders in the Northern and Eastern provinces will also enjoy discounts of up to 25%. They will be eligible for a 25% discount at Mahanathi, and 20% discounts at Top Tex, Abdullas, Barakath Tex, Family Choice and Vani Tex.

These offers are valid for all Credit and Shopping Debit Cards issued under Visa and MasterCard international brands, the Bank said.

In addition to these discounts, cardholders of Commercial Bank enjoy ‘Comdeals’ which provide discounts on purchases with Shopping Debit and Credit cards of the Bank at over 40 selected merchant outlets.

For purchases under ‘Comdeals,’ Credit cardholders enjoy an easy payment scheme with zero per cent interest at over 70 selected merchants.

Mr. Thusitha Suraweera – Chief Manager of Card Centre of Commercial Bank said: “Commercial Bank cardholders come from all over Sri Lanka, which is why we have chosen these merchant outlets for this promotion.”

He pointed out that the Bank had introduced several discount promotions throughout the year to reward its cardholders. Some of these promotions involved popular restaurants and leading hotel chains. 

The largest private bank in Sri Lanka, Commercial Bank is the only Sri Lankan Bank to be listed two years consecutively in the world’s Top 1000 Banks. The Bank operates a network of 226 service points in Sri Lanka and a network of 546 ATMs, the single largest ATM network operated by a bank in the island. It also operates 17 service points in Bangladesh. 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.

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has entered into an agreement with Allianz Lanka to offer General and Life insurance products of the two insurance companies operating under the Allianz name through the Bank’s network of branches island-wide.

The agreement strengthens Commercial Bank’s commitment to offer a wide choice in Bancassurance to existing and potential customers, through partnerships with the country’s leading insurance providers.

The agreement paves the way for Allianz’s innovative insurance products such as Universal Life insurance (Universal Life Family, Allianz Ithurum, and Allianz Retirement), Mortgage Reducing Term Assurance (MRTA) and a variety of Group Life insurance solutions to be available to customers at Commercial Bank’s 226 branches and service points.

The Bank’s extensive network also enhances convenience of making premium payments for Allianz policyholders.

Allianz is the world’s largest general insurance company and with life insurance, is among the top four largest insurers in the world in terms of assets and premium income. Allianz Insurance Lanka Ltd., and Allianz Life Insurance Lanka Ltd., (together known as ‘Allianz Lanka’) are fully-owned subsidiaries of the insurance giant. Some of the major infrastructure projects and buildings in Sri Lanka insured by Allianz Lanka include the World Trade Centre Twin Towers, oil exploration in the Mannar basin, the first wind power project and the Southern Expressway when it was under construction.

The largest private bank in Sri Lanka, Commercial Bank is the only Sri Lankan Bank to be listed two years consecutively in the world’s Top 1000 Banks. The Bank operates a network of 226 service points in Sri Lanka and a network of 546 ATMs, the single largest ATM network operated by a bank in the island. It also operates 17 service points in Bangladesh. 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.

Photo Caption:

Commercial Bank’s Managing Director/CEO Mr. Ravi Dias (centre) and Allianz Lanka CEO Mrs. Surekha J. Alles exchange the agreement in the presence of Commercial Bank DGM – Personal Banking Mr. S Renganathan, Assistant General Manager – Personal Banking, Ms. Sandra Walgama, Product Manager - Bancassurance Mr. Lalith Karunadasa, Allianz Lanka Manager - Bancassurance Mr. Rajiv Fernando and Manager - Legal & Compliance Mrs. Senani Karunanayake.

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has expanded it’s offering in bancassurance by entering in to an agreement with Continental Insurance Lanka Ltd., to sell the latter’s General insurance products through the Bank’s islandwide network of branches.

This will enable Commercial Bank’s customers’ convenient access to a multitude of Continental’s insurance solutions for individuals and corporates.

The agreement envisages that the bank will offer insurance cover based on Continental’s Motor Insurance, Travel Insurance, Private Dwelling Insurance, Fire Insurance and Personal Accident Insurance products.

The Bank’s extensive network of 226 service points enhances the convenience of purchasing insurance products of Continental Insurance and makes the payment of premiums extra convenient and hassle free for the company’s policyholders.

The Memorandum of Understanding pertaining to the bancassurance partnership was formally ratified by Commercial Bank’s Managing Director/CEO Mr. Ravi Dias and Continental Insurance Director, Mr. Chaminda De Silva.

Continental Insurance Lanka Limited is a member of the Distilleries Group of Sri Lanka (DCSL Group). It has become the fastest growing insurance company in Sri Lanka and has been instrumental in providing innovative insurance products to the market. It currently operates out of 28 branches equipped with the very best in technology. The company offers tailor-made insurance products for both personal and business requirements.

The largest private bank in Sri Lanka, Commercial Bank is the only Sri Lankan Bank to be listed two years consecutively in the world’s Top 1000 Banks. The Bank operates a network of 226 service points in Sri Lanka and a network of 546 ATMs, the single largest ATM network operated by a bank in the island. It also operates 17 service points in Bangladesh. 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.

Photo Caption:

Commercial Bank’s Managing Director/CEO Mr. Ravi Dias (second right) and Continental Insurance Director, Mr. Chaminda De Silva sign the MOU in the presence of Commercial Bank DGM – Personal Banking Mr. S Renganathan, Assistant General Manager – Personal Banking, Ms. Sandra Walgama, Product Manager - Bancassurance Mr. Lalith Karunadasa and Continental Insurance CEO Mr. Gerry Gunadasa, AGM - Direct Sales Mr. Dinesh Gunaratne and AM – Marketing Ms. Pierangeli De Alwis.

Benchmark bank’s donation of IT Labs, scholarships for undergraduates, recognised at 2012 Best Corporate Citizen Awards

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon took top honours for the best CSR projects in the ‘Education & Training’ category at the 2012 Best Corporate Citizen Awards presented by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.

The Bank’s country-wide programme of creating an IT enabled environment amongst school children, particularly those in rural areas by commissioning fully-equipped computer labs in schools and for special needs groups as well as its annual scholarships for undergraduates won the Bank the award in this category at this prestigious event.

Education & Training was one of five categories in the ‘Best CSR Projects 2012’ segment of the Chamber’s awards programme.

In the period reviewed for the award (1st April 2011 – 31st March 2012), the Commercial Bank donated IT labs to 33 schools and institutions, benefitting nearly 17,000 students, and awarded scholarships and a laptop each to 25 undergraduates under its annual scholarships programme. The total number of undergraduates assisted during the year was 98, considering beneficiaries of previous years, who continued to receive the annual scholarship of Rs 25,000 each.

The Bank’s IT Labs programme which continues in the current year, has to date benefitted more than 30,000 students in 60 schools and institutions.

 “What sets these programmes apart are the Bank’s commitment to sustaining them over a long period, their scale -- which is national -- and their alignment with national priorities and the Bank’s own vision and mission,” said Mr. Nandika Buddhipala, Chief Financial Officer/ Trustee of Commercial Bank CSR Trust. “We have not simply allocated funds but assigned staff resources and management representation to these projects to ensure they are well implemented and sustained.”
He said the IT Education project was selected after careful consideration of the Bank’s broad vision and the development road map of the Government of Sri Lanka, to nurture the future of the country through IT education by empowering future generations to face the challenges of the 21st century.

In the 12 months reviewed for the Chamber’s award alone, Commercial Bank spent Rs 33.3 million on its education related community programmes. This commitment has increased substantially in the current financial year.

The Bank’s IT Education programme was subjected to an independent external evaluation by Det Norske Veritas (DNV) in April 2012, consequent to which an Assurance Statement was issued by DNV.

In September this year, Commercial Bank further expanded its commitment to the education sector with the launch of a national-scale community initiative to take English language education to children in rural Sri Lanka. The Bank has engaged the professional expertise of the Life English Academy (LEA), a leading English language training institution in Sri Lanka, to conduct this programme as an extra-curricular activity at selected schools across the country.

The inaugural programme under this groundbreaking initiative began at the Kiriella Madhya Maha Vidyalaya in Ratnapura and will conclude in February 2013. It will thereafter be replicated with simultaneous training programmes in other parts of the island.

The Commercial Bank’s CSR Trust was established in 2004, and the Bank contributes 1% of its post tax profit annually towards the Trust’s projects.

Besides it commitments to the sphere of education, the Bank also supports the Health sector as a secondary CSR initiative. The Bank has donated critical care equipment to the Lady Ridgeway Hospital and Jaffna Teaching Hospital and made substantial monetary contributions to repair wards at several other hospitals.

Commercial Bank has also supported facilities for war heroes such as the Ranaviru Sevana Ragama, Abhimansala in Anuradhapura and Mihindu Seth Medura, Attidiya.  
Promoting cultural heritage is another important area of activity of the Commercial Bank CSR Trust. Currently, a Bank sponsored museum is being constructed within the precincts of the Kataragama Kirivehera. The Bank has also renovated the flight of steps at Sri Pada for the benefit of devotees.

The largest private bank in Sri Lanka, Commercial Bank is the only Sri Lankan Bank to be listed two years consecutively in the world’s Top 1000 Banks. The Bank operates a network of 225 service points in Sri Lanka and a network of 541 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.

Photo Caption:

Ms Priyanthi Perera, Coordinator of the  Commercial Bank's CSR Trust receives the award from Mr. Susantha Ratnayake, Chairman of The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.

Opens two new branches at Kodikamam & Mulliyawalai; donates two IT Labs in Vavuniya and Kilinochchi

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has opened two more branches in northern Sri Lanka and donated two IT laboratories to institutions in the region.

The Bank formally opened its 15th branch in the northern region at Kodikamam on 22nd November and opened another branch at Mulliyawalai in Mullaitivu, the 16th in the region, on the following day.

On 22nd November Commercial Bank also commissioned the 66th and 67th IT Labs donated by the Bank at the Dharmarathana Vidyathana Pirivena in Vavuniya and at the Kilinochchi Central College.

The Bank’s Chairman Mr. Dinesh Weerakkody, Managing Director/CEO Mr. Ravi Dias and representatives of senior management participated in the formalities in Kilinochchi, demonstrating the importance accorded by the Bank to the event and the region.

These latest branch openings increase the Bank’s island-wide presence to 226 branches and service points, and its ATM network to 545 terminals.

Commercial Bank’s new Kodikamam branch, located at Point Pedro Road, Kodikamam, is computer-linked to the Bank’s branches and service points country-wide, is equipped with one ATM machine and offers the full range of services available at other branches of the Bank.

The new Mulliyawalai branch, at Main Street, Mulliyawalai, is equipped with two ATM machines and is computer linked to the Commercial Bank’s island-wide network, offering real time access to accounts maintained at any of the Bank’s branches in Sri Lanka.

Commercial Bank’s national-scale programme to create an IT enabled environment for students, particularly in rural areas, by commissioning fully-equipped computer labs in schools and for special needs groups as well as the Bank’s annual scholarships for undergraduates was recently adjudged the Best CSR project in the Education & Training category at the 2012 Best Corporate Citizen Awards presented by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.

The largest private bank in Sri Lanka, Commercial Bank is the only Sri Lankan Bank to be listed two years consecutively in the world’s Top 1000 Banks. 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.

(Ends)

Photo Captions:
Image 1: Commercial Bank Chairman Mr. Dinesh Weerakkody opens the Bank’s Kodikamam Branch in the presence of the Bank’s Managing Director/CEO Mr. Ravi Dias
Image 2: Commercial Bank Chairman Mr. Dinesh Weerakkody and the Bank’s Managing Director/CEO Mr. Ravi Dias at the Kilinochchi Central College.