- Eastern Bank Ltd. (EBL) opens a Branch in Chatham Street
My Report
Integrated Report
Introduction and Overview
Our journey over 100 years
Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer's and Chief Financial Officer's Statement of Responsibility
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Independent Assurance Report - Internal Control
1920
1957
- EBL was acquired by Chartered Bank
1969
- Commercial Bank of Ceylon Ltd. (CBC), incorporated with EBL holding a 40% stake
1971
- Business of EBL was completely integrated with Chartered Bank
1972
- First two branches opened in Galewela and Matale
1973
- CBC acquired Galle, Jaffna and Kandy branches of Mercantile Bank Ltd.
1979
- Offshore Banking Centre formed
1980
- Commercial Development Company (CDC) formed to construct Head Office Building for CBC with 40% equity participation
1984
- Head Office moved to new premises at No. 21, Sir Razik Fareed Mawatha, (formerly Bristol Street), Colombo 01
1987
- EBL changed its name to Standard Chartered (UK) Holdings Ltd.
1990
- Introduced ATM facilities to customers
1993
- Introduced core banking software-International Comprehensive Banking System (ICBS)
1996
- Increased shareholding in CDC to 94.5% through a share swap
1997
- Standard Chartered Bank sold its 40% stake in the Bank
1998
- First 365 Day Branch opened in Colombo 07
- All branches linked to ICBS (except Jaffna)
2000
- Launched Internet Banking
2001
- Opened the 100th branch at Kaduruwela
2003
- Acquired operations of Crédit Agricole Indosuez in Bangladesh
2005
- Raised USD 65 Mn. syndicated loan, becoming the 1st non-sovereign corporate in Sri Lanka to source external funding
2006
- Issued USD 10 Mn. bond, becoming the first indigenous bank to do so
2008
- First Sri Lankan bank to be ranked among the Top 1,000 Banks in the World
2009
- First Sri Lankan Bank to be certified CMMi
2011
- Commenced “Sharia” compliant Islamic Banking
- Opened 200th branch in Kataragama
- Opened an exclusive “Elite” Branch at Colombo 07 for high net worth customers
- Reached milestone 500th ATM located at the Maradana railway station
2012
- Raised USD 65 Mn., from the International Finance Corporation (IFC)
- Launched an exclusive Savings Account for Women named “Anagi”
2013
- Opened “24-Hour Automated Banking Centre” at Ward Place
- Raised a 10-year subordinated debt of USD 75 Mn. from IFC
2014
- Bank acquired 100% stake of Indra Finance Ltd.
- Became the first Sri Lankan Bank to be granted a license by the Central Bank of Myanmar to operate a Representative Office
2015
- Indra Finance, a fully-owned subsidiary of CBC, renamed Serendib Finance Ltd.
2016
- Opened Commercial Bank of Maldives Private Limited, 2nd foreign subsidiary with a 55% stake
- The Bank became a Trillion Rupee Asset company
2017
- Commercial Bank of Maldives opened its second branch in Hulhumalé
- CBC Myanmar Microfinance Company Limited., was established as the second fully-owned subsidiary of CBC outside Sri Lanka in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar
2018
- Launched the country’s first fully-automated cheque deposit machine at City Office Branch in York Street Colombo
- Launched UnionPay cards by a bank in Sri Lanka for the first time, making Sri Lanka the 51st country in the world to issue UnionPay cards
- Introduced Flash Digital Bank Account
2019
- One of the leading mobile payment solutions in China, “WeChat Pay” acceptance launched in Sri Lanka for the first time by CBC with a partnership between Tenpay Payment Technology Ltd.
- Became PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) certified
- “Flash” becomes Sri Lanka’s first multilingual Digital Banking App
- Launched ComBank Q+ Sri Lanka’s first QR based payment app under LANKAQR
- Enabled Dynamic Currency Conversion at ATMs for foreign Visa Cards
- Serendib Finance Ltd., a fully-owned subsidiary of CBC, was renamed CBC Finance Ltd.
- Deposits surpassed Rs. 1 Tn. mark
2020
- Celebrated 100 years of banking in Sri Lanka with a series of events including a staff gathering of unprecedented scale
- Launched “ComBank Digital” powered by Fiserv, the US-based global provider of financial services technology
- Commenced a project to donate smart STEM classes to 100 schools to mark the Bank's centenary
- Became Sri Lanka’s first carbon-neutral bank
2021
- UK’s CDC Group commits USD 50 Mn. to bolster SME lending and climate projects
- First private sector bank to achieve the feat of Loan book surpassing Rs. 1 Tn., joining Assets and Deposits
- Named once again among global giants in banking, becoming the only Sri Lankan bank to be ranked in the “Top 1000 World Banks”, for the 11th consecutive year
2022
- Introduced breakthrough “Tap to Phone” payments acceptance
- Under the latest environment-linked commitment, the Bank undertook to reforest a 100-hectare swath of degraded habitat belonging to the Kandegama forest in the Dimbulagala range of the Polonnaruwa District
- Became the only Bank in Sri Lanka to win National Quality Award from Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI)
- Won 50 international awards including the Best Bank in Sri Lanka – Bank of the Year awards from the Banker – UK
2023
- The Bank enabled “Visa Direct” and “Mastercard Send”, the card-based fund transfer facilities for the first time in Sri Lanka
- Launched a national credit and debit card with international acceptance in collaboration with LankaPay. This is the first launch of LankaPay Credit Cards in Sri Lanka and the first time five variants of LankaPay cards
- Bank launched two platforms to link local businesses to global markets, “Commercial Bank LEAP”, in collaboration with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the other independently developed “Trade Club”
- The omni-channel digital banking platform “ComBank Digital” reached the milestone of one million registered users
- Embarked on an ambitious nationwide tree planting campaign titled “Trees for Tomorrow”, to plant 100,000 trees across Sri Lanka in three years, to help achieve country’s self-defined national climate pledges under the UN Paris Agreement
- The AP licence (Authorised Person License) was presented to the Bank by the Colombo Port City Economic Commission, paving the way for the Bank to operate within and from the precincts of the Colombo Port City, offering banking services to investors as well as customers
2024
- Unveiled evolved logo, symbolising commitment to sustainability encompassing diversity, inclusivity, good governance, transparency, social equity, accountability and eco-friendly banking solutions
- Opened the first “DigiZone” experience centre – a purpose-designed space for customers to be introduced to, and experience the convenience and functionality of the Bank’s comprehensive digital banking offering at Wellawatte branch
- Bank’s Debenture Issue, largest ever by a private sector bank oversubscribed on opening day, raising Rs. 20 Bn.
- Became the first Sri Lankan Bank to join PCAF – the global Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials
- Completed the largest rights issue to date by a bank in Sri Lanka, raising Rs. 22.54 Bn. to increase the Tier I and total capital of the Bank
- Became the first bank in Sri Lanka to receive Corporate Finance Advisor licence from SEC
- Successfully marked the completion of 100,000 trees project with pledge to plant another 100,000