NDB Director/Group CEO Dimantha Seneviratne accepted this award on behalf of NDB at a presentation ceremony held in London, UK, amid over 400 senior bankers from across the globe.
A successful year for National Development Bank (NDB) came off the back of the bank’s plans to overhaul its operations over the next few years. Through the Transformation 2020 plan, the bank highlighted 150 initiatives to undertake across the bank.
NDB sought to tap into the increasing spending power of the female population by identifying three segments –home-makers, the salaried female workforce and entrepreneurs – with the aim of becoming the bank of choice for financial and non-financial assistance across the three groups.
[pullquote]NDB won the The Banker – UK “Bank of the Year” award, as well as the Best Bank in Sri Lanka by the coveted awards programme of the Global Finance Magazine, USA[/pullquote]
To boost cash collection, the bank launched Cash Recycle Machines, which allow for both cash deposits and withdrawals. The service has appealed to customers who can use the deposit services outside of branch opening hours. Branchless banking was introduced as a novel way of reaching the unbanked for the first time. Bank officers would remotely connect to the bank’s systems to allow people to set up accounts and utilise banking services, with the benefit of assistance from a bank employee. Recognising that there was an underserved population in taxi drivers and vendors at fairs and markets, the bank promoted branchless banking as way to serve these potential clients. This focus on customer service was further exemplified in the bank’s overhaul of its complaints procedure and the addition of a data analytics team to assess data on customer behaviour. Our relentless passion for exceptional customer service augmented by digital capabilities, and a committed team rallying around one goal of taking NDB to great heights, have been the key enablers of our success.
Dimantha Seneviratne, group chief executive officer of NDB, says: “Our relentless passion for exceptional customer service augmented by digital capabilities, and a committed team rallying around one goal of Bank of the Year 2018 taking NDB to great heights, have been the key enablers of our success.”
NDB won the The Banker – UK “Bank of the Year” award as well as the Best Bank in Sri Lanka by the coveted awards programme of the Global Finance Magazine, USA. As such, 2018 marks a significant year for NDB where it won both these prestigious awards in a single year, which is a rare feat for a bank. In addition NDB won a number of other awards within the year, including being named the Bank of the Year for “Excellence in Customer Convenience” from LankaPay Technnovation Awards, and seven additional awards under three categories – Retail Banking Awards, Wholesale Banking Awards, and Corporate & Investment Banking Awards by the Asian Banking & Finance Magazine of Singapore among others.
[pullquote]NDB Bank is the parent company of the NDB Group, one of the fastest-growing financial services conglomerates in Sri Lanka[/pullquote]
NDB Bank is the parent company of NDB Group, one of the fastest-growing financial services conglomerates in Sri Lanka, with the strategic mission to be the dominant leader in the financial services and banking sector. From its inception, the group, which includes NDB Bank, NDB Investment Banking, NDB Wealth, NDB Securities, and NDB Capital, has been a catalyst in the development of the nation, strengthening and empowering entrepreneurs, corporates and individuals from all strata of the economy. Our customers across all group companies have benefited from the product and service offerings of NDB group.