Operating Environment

Connecting with Stakeholders


Connecting with stakeholders is all about identifying the specific expectations of different stakeholder groups while distinguishing the diversity between them, formulating methods of engagement to suit stakeholder wishes, prioritising delivery and following up to stakeholder feedback, all with a view to build and sustain mutually beneficial relationships. This will ensure the Bank to stay true to its overall ethos and ethical footprint, ensuring that the Bank is no flickering brand but one that is always visible, blazing in the minds of the stakeholder groups as a stalwart and leader of service delivery in financial intermediation and maturity transformation.

The Bank interacts with a large number of internal and external stakeholders, those that have the potential to make an impact on the Bank’s value creation process as well as those who are affected by its activities and whose support is required for the sustainability of the enterprise. While the identification of stakeholders to whom the Bank has legal obligations, such as employees and investors, is straightforward, the increasing presence and power of social media sites has made it possible for anyone who has interactions with the Bank to become a stakeholder. This makes the selection and prioritisation of stakeholders extremely difficult. These developments have also impacted the manner corporates communicate with all concerned as well as maintaining a standardised message across various networks and media difficult. At the same time, stakeholders are divided along the lines of expectations and preferred modes of engagement. The unprecedented conditions that prevailed in the recent past have further compounded these difficulties, but at the same time, created an acute need to engage deeply with stakeholders to clearly identify their concerns and aspirations and appropriately engage with them.

The banking ecosystem is fast moving from a footfall-based engagement process to a largely digitalised experience. The stakeholders customers in particular, are now more comfortable than ever with the digital interactions and are willing to move away from visiting the Bank to engaging with it from the comforts of their own homes. The digital faithful are here for the long haul.

Taking cognisance of the above facts and developments, the Bank has identified following groups given in the Figure 03 to be its key stakeholders considering their influence and their interest in our business. We have presented them in the order of their ability to affect our operations from high to low.

The Figure given below demonstrates the stakeholder engagement process in place at the Bank which reflects our ethos of having the best interest of all the stakeholders at heart – Bank’s tag line – “Our interest is in you” which has enabled us to maintain continuous and open engagement through multiple platforms, thereby strengthening collaboration with stakeholders. This process has paved the way for us to incorporate their legitimate concerns and expectations in to our strategy and deliver value to and, in turn, derive value from them, leading to sustainable value creation.

As depicted in Table 03, multiple formal mechanisms are in place to connect with our stakeholder groups, to address their expectations. Responsibility for such engagement is shared across the Bank at every stakeholder point of contact.

The changes brought about by the pandemic affected the way, the level and the frequency of engagement with our stakeholders and we resorted to digital mediums more and more in engaging with our stakeholders.

Our stakeholder engagement process enables to better adapt ourselves to meet the evolving challenges, sustain and improve our business model, drive innovation, and gather invaluable insights for our strategic planning process.

Table – 03: Mode and frequency of stakeholder engagement

Engagement mechanism
and frequency

Investors

Engagement mechanism

Frequency

Annual Reports and AGMs

Annually

Extraordinary General Meetings

As required

Interim financial statements

Quarterly

Investor presentations

As required

Press conferences and releases

As required

Announcements to CSE

As required

One-to-one discussions

As required

Investors’ section in the Corporate website

Continuous

Feedback surveys

As required

Customers

Engagement mechanism

Frequency

Customer visits

As required

Complaints received

As required

Complaints resolution officer

As required

ComBank BIZ Club

Continuous

Branch network, call centre, and digital channels

Continuous

Media advertisements

As required

Corporate website

Continuous

Customer workshops

As required

Relationship managers

Continuous

What are the key topics raised
and feedback provided
  • Financial performance
  • Governance practices in place
  • Transparency and disclosure
  • Business expansion plans
  • Risk management and governance
  • Rising taxes in the financial industry
  • Resilience to adverse economic environment
  • Rising NPCF and impairment charges
  • Dividend payments and restrictions imposed by the regulator
  • Economic slowdown due to lack of policy consistency
  • Achieving sustainable business growth against accepted risks
  • Sharp drop in the FCY reserves and successive sovereign downgrades
  • Sustainability and climate related developments
  • Swift service
  • Customer security and privacy
  • Service quality
  • Affordability of services and convenience
  • Grievance handling mechanism
  • Financial education and literacy
  • Financial support for revival of business
  • Access to financial services
  • Enrolment to digital platforms
  • Operationalising of CBSL directives
  • Growing interest in sustainable investing among private sector
  • Need of Financial support for women entrepreneurs

How did the Bank respond
to stakeholders
  1. Robust Risk Management and Governance Framework
  2. Optimum levels of liquidity and maximising profitability by optimal usage of liquid assets
  3. Maintained capital adequacy
  4. Worked closely with its correspondence banks and its trade finance customers to manage the foreign currency liquidity
  5. Reached out to new funding partners and established new funding lines
  6. Adapted a climate position statement for the Bank
  1. Adjusting the ways of working and service delivery channels and providing the necessary infrastructure to support customers
  2. Set up Mini Digital Experience Zones, to help customers gradually migrate into digital channels
  3. Extended relief to diverse customers affected by the pandemic through moratorium schemes, relief to non-performing borrowers, review of lending rates
  4. Non financial support to SMEs and Micro Businesses – ComBank BIZ Club grew by 9.1% to 5,243 members by end 2022. Members of ComBank BIZ Club were provided with economic updates and alerts on new business developments via email and SMS
  5. Assisted MSME customers with financial literacy and capacity building programmes
  6. A range of new financial and non-financial products and services were launched including the Anagi Business Loan for women SMEs, Anagi Instant Loan for salaried women, Anagi Credit Card, insurance for women customers and entrepreneurship skill development programs for women
Read more Message from the Chairman , Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer’s Review , Management Discussion and Analysis , Financial Statements .

Engagement mechanism
and frequency

Employees

Engagement mechanism

Frequency

Managers' Conference

Annually

Town hall meetings

Annually

Regional review meetings

Quarterly

Reginal Managers' meeting

Monthly

Branch marketing meeting

Monthly

Training programmes

As required

Intranet

Continuous

Special staff events

Annually

Trade union discussions

As required

Employee satisfaction survey

As required

Society

Engagement mechanism

Frequency

Delivery channels

Continuous

Press releases, conferences and media briefings

As required

Informal briefings and communications

As required

Public events

As required

Corporate website

Continuous

Regulators

Engagement mechanism

Frequency

Supplier relationship management

Annually

Directives and circulars

Continuous

Meetings and consultations

As required

Press releases

As required

Periodic returns

As specified

Submissions to policymakers

As required

Responses to consultation papers on Directions and other regulations

As specified

What are the key topics raised
and feedback provided
  • Performance and reward management
  • Career advancement opportunities
  • Training and development
  • Work-life balance
  • Retirement benefit plans
  • Diversity and inclusion
  • Safety at workplace
  • Stable performance of the Bank
  • Responsible financing
  • Commitment to community
  • Financial inclusion and job opportunities
  • Microfinance and SME
  • Ethics and business conduct
  • Environmental performance
  • Employment opportunities
  • Compliance with directives and codes
  • Microfinance and SME development
  • Stability of the financial system
  • Migration to cashless payment platforms
  • Supporting economic recovery and growth

How did the Bank respond
to stakeholders
  1. A group of identified potential branch Managers were enrolled to a Leadership Development Program conducted by the Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM)
  2. Special Virtual training programs were conducted targeting Branch Managers, Assistant Branch Managers, and Junior Executive Officers covering technical and soft skills
  3. Work from home arrangements were facilitated for employees by providing necessary IT infrastructure and implementing guidelines on remote working
  4. All employee engagement and development programs were migrated to digital platforms, ensuring collaboration and ongoing interaction
  5. The Bank remains committed to the principles of equal opportunity irrespective of gender, age, race, disability or religion in all its HR management processes
  6. All expectant mothers across the Bank were granted special leave to ensure their safety against the third wave of the pandemic
  7. The Collective Agreement with the Bank’s branch of the Ceylon Bank Employees’ Union (CBEU) was renewed in 2021 for a 3-year period
  8. Providing special transport facilities during the fuel crisis
  1. Launched “Agri Leasing” facilities at low rentals and flexible payment plans, taking into consideration the seasonal income patterns of farmers and cultivation months to support the agronomy of the country
  2. The Bank has further expanded its portfolio of green buildings to include the Jaffna Branch and the Trincomalee branch
  3. Financial literacy programmes for SMEs and Micros
  4. Donation of 280 fully-equipped IT laboratories to schools and other institutions
  5. Donation of critical medical equipment to government hospitals
  6. Initiated the reforestation of 100 hectares in Kandegama, Polonnaruwa
  7. 7,000 mangrove plants were planted to cover 1,250 metres
  8. Setup 43 STEM classroom and 44 math labs in rural schools
  1. Remaining compliant with regulatory requirements by maintaining internal capital targets that are more stringent than the regulatory requirements
  2. Timely submission of regulatory reports and issuance of press releases
  3. Timely payment of tax payments and furnishing of tax returns
  4. Adhering to the Ministry of Health guidelines and protocols to ensure the safety and wellbeing of customers and employees
Read more Message from the Chairman , Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer’s Review , Management Discussion and Analysis , Financial Statements .