Incorporated in 1995, Pan Asia Bank being a relatively young entrant to the commercial banking industry has carved a niche for itself as an innovative bank with a strong Sri Lankan identity. With 85 branches Pan Asia Bank is present in all major parts of the country, while maintaining its strongest presence in the western, central, southern and north western provinces.
DGM Branch Credit, Naleen Edirisinghe counts over 30 years of banking experience in commercial banks including Commercial Bank of Ceylon and National Development Bank. He joined Pan Asia Bank in 2000 and has extensive experience in Retail and SME Banking including Credit, Recoveries, Project Financing and Branch Operations. He holds an MSc in Management from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka, Fellow of the Certified Professional Managers and a member of the Association of Professional Bankers, Sri Lanka.
BMD spoke with Mr. Edirisinghe, on the Bank’s growth in the recent past , its overall performance, its contribution to the country’s development and its commitment to green lending.
The Bank made its highest ever profit after tax (PAT) in the last financial year ending March 31, 2019, of Rs.1.5 billion while its assets stood above Rs. 150 billion. As at end 2018 bank’s loan portfolio stood at Rs. 113 billion, and deposit portfolio was at 118 billion, both having recorded a growth over Rs. 10 billion during 2018. The bank’s net interest margin was 4.3%, Cost to income ratio 48% and the ROI was 13.73%. “Prudent management of our portfolios resulted in this commendable performance,” said the bank’s DGM Branch Credit, Naleen Edirisinghe.
“Exceeding Rs. 1.5 billion PAT, for a bank with 85 branches is satisfactory in these testing times but we are confident that we can achieve much more with the inroads we made to the market during the last 5 years” added Edirisinghe.
Read BMD June 2019 for more details.