The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has been honoured with two of the most prestigious accolades at the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2025, reaffirming its position as the leading private sector bank in Sri Lanka.
The Bank was named Sri Lanka’s Best Bank and Best Bank for SMEs, in recognition of its exceptional achievements in financial performance, digital leadership and its pivotal role in empowering the country’s small and medium enterprises.
In naming Commercial Bank the Best Bank in Sri Lanka, Euromoney commended the Bank’s ability to deliver exceptional financial and digital performance against the backdrop of a gradually recovering national economy.
The magazine noted that in 2024, Commercial Bank achieved a near 200% increase in profit before tax, rising to Rs 95.54 billion from Rs 31.88 billion the previous year. Profit after tax grew by 164% to Rs 54.07 billion, while the Bank’s return on equity climbed to 22.06%, the highest among Sri Lanka’s private sector banks.
Euromoney also highlighted the Bank’s success in improving asset quality, noting a significant reduction in its impaired loans ratio to 2.76% in 2024, down from 5.85% the previous year. The Bank further strengthened its market position, expanding its market share in total assets to 13.16%, up from 12.65%, while the share of deposits grew to 12.90%, from 12.54%.
On the digital front, Euromoney praised Commercial Bank’s leadership in innovation. By November 2024, ComBank Digital served over 1.5 million users, facilitating more than 5 million transactions per month. The Bank achieved a 45% digital adoption rate, recording 48 million customer interactions during the year. Notably, the introduction of AI-driven underwriting enabled the Bank to deliver faster credit decisions and an improved digital customer experience.
In awarding Commercial Bank the title of Best Bank for SMEs in Sri Lanka, Euromoney cited the Bank’s strong and sustained commitment to driving financial inclusion and economic growth through the SME sector.
As a key lender to SMEs, the Bank provided substantial credit and advisory services across a diverse portfolio, reinforcing its role in supporting entrepreneurship and economic resilience. Euromoney also noted the Bank’s success in expanding its SME customer base, and its increased support for women-owned enterprises, driven by dedicated financing initiatives.
Commercial Bank’s innovative lending programmes and tailored credit solutions were acknowledged as critical to meeting the evolving needs of various industries. Accessibility was further improved by streamlined digital onboarding and the deployment of mobile service units to reach underserved and remote communities, reducing barriers to formal financial services.
Beyond its financial offerings, Euromoney recognised the Bank’s efforts to create a robust SME ecosystem through networking platforms, capacity-building forums and strategic partnerships. By enabling connections between peers, mentors and markets, Commercial Bank has helped SMEs to scale up and explore new avenues of growth, the magazine said.
Established over 30 years ago, the Euromoney Awards for Excellence recognise banks and bankers that demonstrate innovation, operational excellence and strategic vision. Today, the programme is considered the benchmark for achievement in the global banking industry.
The first Sri Lankan bank with a market capitalisation of more than US$ 1 billion, Commercial Bank was also the first bank in the country be listed among the Top 1000 banks of the world, and has the highest capital base among all Sri Lankan banks. The Bank is the largest private sector lender in Sri Lanka and the largest lender to the country’s SME sector. Commercial Bank is also a leader in digital innovation and is Sri Lanka’s first 100% carbon-neutral bank.
Commercial Bank operates a network of strategically located branches and automated machines island-wide, and has the widest international footprint among Sri Lankan banks, with 20 branches in Bangladesh, a fully-fledged Tier I Bank with a majority stake in the Maldives, a Microfinance company in Myanmar and a representative office in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). The Bank’s fully owned subsidiaries, CBC Finance Ltd. and Commercial Insurance Brokers (Pvt) Limited, also deliver a range of financial services via their own branch networks.
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