Banking and Finance

ComBank Bangladesh operations receive ‘AAA’ credit rating for 14th successive year

Commercial Bank Bangladesh, the Bangladesh operation of Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC, has received a ‘AAA’ (Triple A) Long Term credit rating from Credit Rating Information and Services Ltd (CRISL) for 2024, the 14th consecutive year it has received the highest credit rating given to a financial institution in Bangladesh.

Valid till June 2025, the latest credit rating is the outcome of an in-depth analysis of the operational and financial performance of the Bank along with relevant quantitative and qualitative factors, the Bank said.

Congratulating Commercial Bank Bangladesh on this achievement, Commercial Bank Managing Director/CEO Mr Sanath Manatunge said: “Receiving the ‘AAA’ (Triple A) rating for 14 consecutive years is an exceptionally rare achievement for a bank in Bangladesh, and demonstrates the collective dedication to excellence, commitment to customers and unparalleled service standards of the leadership team as well as employees at every level. Commercial Bank Bangladesh is a great asset of the Commercial Bank Group.”

The CEO of Commercial Bank’s Bangladesh operations Mr Najith Meewanage added: “Our performance in Bangladesh is driven by the same standards of professionalism, best practices and commitment to good governance as Commercial Bank of Ceylon, ensuring that we provide our customers the highest quality in terms of products and services in both corporate and retail banking, including digital banking services. We are proud to be a standard bearer in Bangladesh, as evidenced by our ‘AAA’ rating.”

Commercial Bank entered Bangladesh in July 2003 with the acquisition of the Bangladesh operations of Credit Agricole Indosuez (CAI), its first ever acquisition of a banking operation. The French multi-national bank operated two branches and two booths in Bangladesh at that time. Over the 21 years that followed, the Commercial Bank of Ceylon Bangladesh operation has established itself above other regional banks operating in the country with 20 outlets, comprising of eight branches in Dhaka, (Motijjheel, Gulshan, Dhanmondi, Uttara, Pantopath, Mirpur, Tejgaon), one each in Chattogram, Sylhet and Narayanganj, two specialised Off-shore Banking Units in Dhaka (Gulshan and Chattogram - CEPZ) and six SME Centres in Old Dhaka (Dhaka), Progati Sarani (Dhaka), Shantinagar (Dhaka), Tongi (Dhaka), Jubilee Road (Chattogram) and CDA Avenue (Chattogram) and a booth in the US embassy.

Sri Lanka’s first 100% carbon neutral bank, Commercial Bank is the largest private sector bank in Sri Lanka and the first Sri Lankan bank to be listed among the Top 1000 Banks of the World. The Bank is the largest lender to Sri Lanka’s SME sector, and is a leader in digital innovation in the country’s Banking sector. Commercial Bank operates a strategically-located network of branches and 966 automated machines in Sri Lanka, and has the widest international footprint among Sri Lankan Banks.