Combank bags gold awards at Brand Excellence 2014

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon won the 'Service Brand of the Year' and three other accolades at the 2014 SLIM Brand Excellence Awards to become the bank that won the most awards at the event which was conducted by the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing. Sri Lanka's largest private bank took the Golds in the 'Service Brand' category and in the 'Best New Entrant' category for its Anagi savings account for women and the Silver in the 'Best Local Brand' and the Bronze in the 'CSR Brand of the Year' categories.

"There can be no better acknowledgement of the emphasis we place on service excellence than to be adjudged the best overall in the Services sector in Sri Lanka," Commercial Bank's Managing Director and CEO Jegan Durairatnam said.

"This award reaffirms that we are committed to continuously update and improve our processes and product offering to give the best to our stakeholders. All the hard work put in at many levels to build our corporate image and our holistic approach to marketing have clearly paid off. These awards for Brand Excellence are a tribute to the passion of the entire Commercial Bank team," he said.

The 'Service Brand of the Year' is one of the six main categories (Product Brand of the Year, Service Brand of the Year, Innovative Brand of the Year, Turnaround Brand of the Year, Local Brand of the Year and Export Brand of the Year) awarded annually by SLIM. The scores achieved in these categories are evaluated by the judges to decide on the Brand of the Year award.

In the Special Awards categories, Commercial Bank's Gold for 'New Entrant of the Year' recognises the success of the Anagi Savings Account developed exclusively for women and launched in late 2012.

The new account offers an interest rate over the normal savings rate, one of the best rates in the savings account category for women, gold loans at a concessionary rate and a Commercial Bank shopping debit card.

It was launched by Commercial Bank in recognition of the fact that women shoulder an increasing number of responsibilities while heading more and more households, resulting in the economically active female population undergoing rapid growth.

The Silver in the 'Local Brand of the Year' category acknowledges the strength of the Commercial Bank as a wholly home-grown corporate brand not only in the banking sector but across all sectors of business in the 'Products' and 'Services' segments.

"This award speaks to the extent to which Commercial Bank has won the hearts and minds of consumers, competing against local brands across the entire spectrum of commercial activity," the Bank's Deputy General Manager - Marketing, Hasrath Munasinghe said.

In the sphere of Corporate Social Responsibility, the Bronze awarded to Commercial Bank recognises the impact of the multi-faceted community initiatives undertaken by the Bank on its brand value. These initiatives include the Bank's nationally-scaled programme of donating computer laboratories to schools, a project to supplement English language classes in rural schools, the annual presentation of scholarships and laptops to undergraduates, the donation of medical equipment to hospitals around the country, assistance to war heroes, projects to promote and conserve the country's cultural heritage, and emergency assistance in times of flood or drought.