Mr R Seevaratnam, Director of HNB handing over a computer to Mr. P.M Thilekaratne Pathiraja, Principal of Medagama Primary School Kekirawa which is the 150th School Library under the HNB Nena Pubuduwa Scheme Mr Rajendra Theagarajah, Managing Director/CEO HNB also in the picture.

What does it take to be the Best Bank in Sri Lanka?
Having been recognized as the “Best Bank in Sri Lanka” by the International Finance Magazine “Euromoney”, HNB continues its journey to being the “Best” in good corporate citizenship as well. 

With a wide spread branch network spanning the whole island, HNB has always been conscious of its wider social responsibilities to the society and the environment. The extent to which these responsibilities have been taken seriously was evident recently when the Bank formally confirmed that it has set up a separate charitable trust – HNB Sustainability Foundation.

In the last 50 years many of the country’s economic activities have generally been concentrated in and around the capital city largely ignoring the villages. In this background it should be noted that HNB has always invested in rural areas. HNB being an indigenous financial institution in Sri Lanka has been involved in rural development as far back as 1972 with the establishment of a village adoption project in Debararawewa, in the extreme interior of the country. Such experiences provided the Bank with an intimate knowledge of the ground situation in the rural areas and has led to many initiatives such as providing water and sanitation facilities, school libraries, computers to schools, assistance to cancer patients, blood donation campaigns, dengue awareness programmes, building houses for the fishing community in the village of Padiyathalawa, bringing back the flora and fauna at the Bundala National Park and so on. 

Currently, the Bank approaches CSR in three ways namely developing entrepreneurship, health and education. The Bank’s award winning micro finance programme is now well established and in its 20th year, assisting thousands of rural youth to achieve their dreams.

In the field of education, HNB takes a long term view to aid high literacy and launched the HNB “Nena Pubuduwa” school library scheme in 2005 to create 100 school libraries. But considering the needs that emerged at the time of implementation the Bank has set up 150 libraries in 150 needy schools all over the country. The Bank’s assistance does not stop there but continues to support the schools by donating new books each year to these libraries. In addition the Bank has donated computers to these schools and is in the process of setting up separate computer centres in selected schools as well.  

HNB’s involvement in improving the standards of healthy living as well as assisting the sick and infirm is considerable. The Bank set up the first Counseling Centre in the country to support cancer patients in 2007 at the National Cancer Institute, Maharagama. The Bank partnered to sponsor training of the local doctors and nurses by the Royal Marsden Hospital, UK and has taken over the running costs of the Counseling Centre. Further 4 of the Bank’s staff have been given special permission to follow a Counselors training and on completion will volunteer as Counselors at the Centre.

The Bank will also be providing financial assistance to cancer patients, especially in cases where the bread winner of the family is affected by cancer through the HNB Sustainability Foundation. An Agreement to this effect was signed with the Patients Advise & Liaison Services Centre, National Cancer Institute of Sri Lanka, Maharagama on 17 November 2009.

“Considering the needs that remain unfulfilled even now and the plight of the people in under developed areas led us to form a separate trust fund by which the Bank could independently assist those in dire need as well as considerably reduce the risk of CSR being jettisoned in the event of a change in the economic environment” said Mr R Theagarajah, the Managing Director/CEO of HNB and the first chairman of the HNB Sustainability Foundation in his statement.

The Foundation will be funded by the Bank but would function independently. Initially it will be managed by members of the Bank’s Management. The Bank is also considering the possibility of inviting interested parties to join hands in certain projects of the Foundation especially towards providing financial assistance to cancer patients and their families.

At the start, the Foundation would focus on the projects that are currently handled by the Bank namely assistance to Cancer Patients, the Water & Sanitation projects and clearing the Bundala National Park of toxic plants.