With an outlook that goes beyond the shores of Sri Lanka, NDB Investment Bank is changing the financial services landscape, inculcating the spirit of innovation in its DNA. The management team of NDBIB talks to Echelon magazine on the strategies that drive its success.
NDBIB has been recognised internationally as the Best Investment Bank in Sri Lanka with many accolades in recent years. What’s the driver of this global recognition?
NDBIB has consistently maintained its market leadership in capital raising and mergers and acquisitions in Sri Lanka. This has been made possible due to NDBIB’s best-in-class team of professionals and its ability to meet and exceed client expectations through customized financial solutions. NDBIB continuously innovates within the capital markets space by introducing novel structures and financial instruments to Sri Lanka in line with regional and global practices. The international recognition received by NDBIB as the leader for investment banking in Sri Lanka is a culmination of all these factors.
[pullquote]NDBIB’S BEST-INCLASS TEAM OF PROFESSIONALS AND ITS ABILITY TO MEET AND EXCEED CLIENTS’ EXPECTATIONS THROUGH CUSTOMISED FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS[/pullquote]
With last year’s economic slowdown, banks have seen a downturn in profits and growth. Has this impacted NDBIB?
Over the years, we have been positioning ourselves to offer our expertise and a range of financial services outside Sri Lanka as well, particularly the South Asian region which includes Bangladesh and the Maldives. While there has been a general decline in economic activity in Sri Lanka, we have seen our strategy to go regional come to fruition where transactions from the region now account for a significant portion of our deal flow. In Sri Lanka, we have identified and capitalised on certain opportunities in the market to maintain our leadership in terms of funds raised and value of transactions advised on. The mergers and acquisitions space is an area that presents opportunities in both good and bad times as high quality and distressed assets will be divested for different reasons. We have capitalised on these opportunities to stay ahead of the competition.
Staying ahead in a competitive investment banking and financial services landscape can be a challenge. How does NDBIB maintain its competitive edge?
We have invested in ensuring that our team of transactors are the best in the market. We recruit them as promising young graduates, mentor them closely, provide training and groom them to be dynamic investment bankers. Their knowhow, capabilities and expertise help us stay ahead and meet our clients’ expectations. We have also engrained innovation to our organisational DNA where every team member is encouraged to try novel approaches and defy conventional thinking.
Tell us about the financial services that NDBIB has to offer, and its new plans.
There are three main business verticals that we focus on. Capital raising in the form of both debt and equity, mergers and acquisitions and general corporate advisory services. Within these broad verticals, we continue to gain knowledge from other developed markets and introduce new products and instruments to the Sri Lankan capital markets to meet our clients’ unique needs. We also see an opportunity to generate further deal flow from Bangladesh and Maldives. We are aggressively pursuing opportunities to partner with market intermediaries overseas to boost our distribution capabilities and upgrade our skills and expertise through technology transfer from advanced markets.