Our Journey
1920
Eastern Bank Limited (EBL) opens a branch in Chatham Street
1957
EBL was acquired by Chartered Bank
1969
Commercial Bank of Ceylon Limited was incorporated with EBL holding a 40% stake
1971
Business of EBL integrated with Chartered Bank
1972
First two branches opened in Galewela and Matale
1973
Acquired Galle, Jaffna and Kandy branches of Mercantile Bank Limited
1979
Offshore banking centre formed
1980
Commercial Development Company (CDC) formed to construct the Head Office building with 40% equity participation
1984
Head office moved to new premises at No. 21, Sir Razik Fareed Mawatha, (formerly Bristol Street), Colombo 1
1987
EBL changed its name to Standard Chartered (UK) Holdings Limit
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 7
- All branches linked to ICBS except Jaffna
1999
Banking and supermarketing were combined by opening the first “MiniCom”
2000
Launched Internet Banking
2001
Opened the 100th branch at Kaduruwela and the Gold Trading Unit at the Foreign Branch
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
- Opened 150th branch at Mahiyanganaya
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
2010
Reached milestone 400th ATM at the Ruwanwella branch
2011
- Commenced “Sharia” compliant Islamic Banking
- Opened 200th branch in Kataragama
- Opened an exclusive “Elite” Branch at Colombo 7 for high net worth customers
- ATM network expanded to 500
2012
- Became the first Sri Lankan Bank to Link it’s ATMs to China UnionPay
- Raised USD 65 Mn., from the International Finance Corporation (IFC)
- Launched an exclusive savings account for women named “Anagi”
2013
- Launched sophisticated Internet Banking service (On-line Banking) in Bangladesh
- Raised a 10-year subordinated debt of USD 75 Mn. from IFC
- Opened “24-hour automated Banking Centre’ at Ward Place
2014
- Bank’s first “Forex ATM” installed at Crescat Boulevard
- Commissioned 600th ATM at the new Colombo Gold Centre
- Bank acquired the 100% stake of Indra Finance Limited
- Became the first Sri Lankan Bank to be granted a license by the Central Bank of Myanmar to operate a Representative Office
2015
- Launched paperless green banking facility
- Launched new generation of automated cash deposit terminals eliminating the use of paper
- Indra Finance, a fully-owned subsidiary of Commercial Bank, renamed Serendib Finance Limited
- Bank branches go green with the installation of solar power systems at four branches
2016
- Only Sri Lankan bank to be ranked among the “Top 1,000 banks in the world” for the 7th time, the 6th consecutive year
- Launched Sri Lanka’s first Remittance Card
- Commenced Commercial operations of Commex Sri Lanka S.R.L. Italy, our fully owned subsidiary
- Opened Commercial Bank of Maldives Private Limited, 2nd foreign subsidiary with a 55% stake
- The Bank became a Trillion-Rupee Asset company
2017
- Became the first ATM network to be fully EMV compliant in Sri Lanka
- Introduced Mastercard Debit Cards with Chip and PIN technology for the first time in Sri Lanka
- Introduced mobile banking in the literal sense with the launch of “Bank on Wheels” – a modified and branded vehicle designed to provide basic over-the-counter banking facilities to customers living outside city limits
- “World Finance” the prestigious London-based magazine declares COMBANK the best in Sri Lanka for digital and mobile banking
- Commercial Bank of Maldives opens its second branch in Hulhumalé
- COMBANK tops private banks in Interbrand’s inaugural ranking of country’s best brands
- Commercial Bank’s Annual Report 2016 wins overall award for best annual report at the ICASL Annual Report Awards
- The Bank was named among the “Top Companies in Asia” and the “Top Green Companies in Asia” at the 2017 Asia Corporate Excellence and Sustainability (ACES) awards
- Established 100% owned CBC Myanmar Microfinance Company Limited, 3rd foreign subsidiary