On the backdrop of completing 129 years of operation in the country, HSBC Sri Lanka continued its leadership position as the best International Retail Bank of the year, at the Asian Banking & Finance Retail Banking Awards 2021 for the fifth time, since 2016.

This year over 140 exceptional banks from 31 countries were recognised for their continuous drive to grow and provide services to customers amidst several uncertainties presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. Winning banks were judged for their resilience and ability to adapt and leverage digital technology amidst the crisis, and cater to the ever-changing customer preferences and increased comfort with digital products and services, to benchmark themselves against market competition.

Nadeesha Senaratne, Country Head of Wealth & Personal Banking HSBC said, “We are truly humbled to be recognised as Sri Lanka’s best International Retail Bank of the year given the challenging environment faced by many businesses and the impacts of the pandemic on local communities. This award is a testament to the dedication and commitment of our Wealth & Personal banking team in Sri Lanka and the customer confidence in HSBC. It further proves that our strategy to invest in technology and help customers adapt to the new normal with digital banking products and services, and making banking fast, easy to use and secure, is paying off.”

He further said, “I take this opportunity to thank all our customers for the trust placed in us, and to our staff for their continued commitment to supporting our customers and the wider community that we serve.”

This year HSBC rolled out several digital banking channels for customers to be able to bank from anywhere, anytime. Customers, who had been slow to adopt digital in the past, were forced to embrace technology during the pandemic. More than 80% of the bank's clients now use digital channels including mobile banking, e-wallets, real-time cash deposit machines and other digital services.

The same applies to corporate banking where HSBC has a 90% digital penetration rate and 70% mobile penetration for the client group. HSBC was able to bring clients on board remotely using technology and was the first to introduce LiveSign in Sri Lanka, and provide access to credit cards, loans and customer service.

Earlier this year, HSBC Sri Lanka was also named International Bank of the Year by Asiamoney in the Best Bank Awards 2021 for the fifth consecutive year and was awarded the same title by Finance Asia in its Country Awards 2021, for the sixth time.

These awards further reinforce HSBC Sri Lanka’s longstanding commitment to the country and customers, as well as recognises the bank’s overall dominance in Wholesale Banking, Wealth & Personal Banking and Global Banking and Markets.