In today’s dynamic business environment, corporate banking plays a pivotal role in enabling businesses to thrive and grow. Union Bank’s Rushira De Silva, Vice President – Head of Corporate Banking, and Brian Joseph, Vice President – Treasury, emphasize the importance of strategic leadership and innovative solutions in supporting corporate clients.
They highlight that banks which prioritized liquidity, managed risks effectively, and adhered to strong governance principles are now uniquely positioned to empower businesses, drive growth, and create long-term value. Union Bank remains committed to leveraging its expertise to support corporate clients in achieving their ambitions and navigating opportunities in 2025 and beyond.
Rushira De Silva
Vice President – Head of Corporate Banking
What is the outlook for the corporate banking sector in 2025?
In many ways, 2024 can be considered as a year of consolidation. Envisaged economic growth in 2025 will pave the way for a plethora of opportunities across most industry segments in the country. This will lead to intense competition among banks as all banks will want to support the opportunities presented by this growth momentum Digitalization too will play a pivotal role in corporate banking.
How is Union Bank’s Corporate Banking division planning to cater to evolving needs in the corporate banking sphere?
Our Corporate Banking team is fully equipped to support economic growth in 2025. We have identified the key segments we aim to partner with, and all efforts will be focused on engaging their respective clients.
Union Bank’s cash management solution, Biz Direct, is a fully automated digital platform that enhances our clients’ efficiencies and reduces their costs. We have also aligned our practices in line with the Bank’s ESG agenda, complementing the initiatives of our corporates. This will help promote sustainable practices and foster long-term partnerships with corporates. On top of this, our Treasury and Trade teams are well attuned to the changing macro-economic landscape, regulatory changes and other evolving market changes to cater to the evolving needs of the clients.
What is your view on relationship management and partnerships in corporate banking?
Relationship management is one of the key differentiators in corporate banking. Effective relationship management enhances customer satisfaction, loyalty and the creation of long-term sustainable partnerships. We at Union Bank have recognized the criticality of its importance and are focused on capacity building and upskilling our relationship management teams to ensure that they are well-attuned to the evolving trends in digitalization, AI, and so on. This ensures they are ready to deliver on customer expectations and create value for long-term partnerships.
Brian Joseph
Vice President – Treasury
From an economic point of view, what prospects does 2025 hold?
The years 2023, 2024 and 2025 represent Calamity, Stability, and Resurgence, respectively. All economic indicators were flashing red and amber a couple of years ago. Leaving aside all other economic factors, our GDP growth and foreign reserves — the Central Bank as well as the banking sector — indicate that we’re in the green. We’ve made it through the hard times, and now it’s time to surge ahead.
During the past couple of years, the banks’ bottom lines were supplemented by higher interest rates on high-risk government securities. However, concerns regarding the default, debt restructure, and so on have now been put to rest. Bank lending plays a crucial role in GDP growth, so this year we’ll see a shift where a significant portion of income shifts from the Treasury to core banking business such as corporate, retail, and SME banking. Most banks will release liquidity held in the Treasury and deploy it into these areas where we can expect growth.
Lower inflation and higher spending power, driven by lower interest rates and credit flow, will benefit the everyday citizen. Consumption and growth will both pick up as well.
What will the Union Bank’s Treasury bring to the table to enhance stakeholder value?
In recent times, most Treasuries have had a single function: the main driver of a bank’s income. This was also true for corporates, which were driven by high interest rates and highly volatile exchange rates.
The high margins were a result of inflow uncertainty, especially for foreign currency, where there were no inflows whatsoever. Fortunately, as foreign currency flows into the banking channels have increased, we can now re-establish the norm of high volumes and low margins. We’re at the tipping point where the banking business has carefully moved from the Treasury towards general banking.
During this transition, the Treasury is focusing on providing secure long-term funding and risk mitigation for clients, taking on a more advisory and supportive role to complement other business lines.
How well-positioned is the Union Bank’s Treasury in achieving its goals?
The economy is recovering and stabilizing — and in Resurgence — at a pivotal time like this, we will leverage many key factors to maximize the opportunities. Our team is a major strength and Union Bank can boast of an experienced and well-trained Treasury team with previous experience in various markets, particularly investment banking, Treasury, corporate banking, and so on. They make up the core of what we offer.
Our risk management capabilities have never been stronger. Our strong foreign currency liquidity plays an integral part in our business growth and it enabled us to make timely payments even during the challenging periods, particularly during the pandemic. This had a lasting positive impact on our clients, enabling us to build greater trust and create even deeper relationships that will support our growth journey ahead.