Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC- Social Responsibility

Winning awards and acclaim locally and internationally are insufficient. A trustworthy organisation must share its good fortune and be compassionate at all times. This is Commercial Bank's ethos.

As part of its commitment to assisting Sri Lankan community, Commercial Bank has undertaken several social activities under its Corporate Social Responsibility Plan.

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A Penumbra of Responsibility

A Penumbra of Responsibility Ethical and sustainable banking is our core business. Sri Lanka's leading private bank leads the way in best practices when it comes to state of the art banking. But beyond the core, outside the glare of the banking spotlight, in the margins, and on the periphery are needs that no ethical modern corporate entity can ignore.

The challenge of modern business is not just to generate a sound financial performance, but to perform outside of the balance sheet. To generate sustainable and constant dividends for different segments of society, but specially for those who are most disadvantaged, for those who require empowerment most urgently.

This is the goal of the Bank's CSR Trust Cutting edge in every sense of the word. Swathing new frontiers so that all Sri Lankans can march forward, head held high to the promised land of good life, better opportunity and human security.

It was to patrol this penumbra of responsibility, beyond the Bank's core business, that we established the Commercial Bank Social Responsibility Trust. The Trust will not provide charity and handouts, but rather will seek to empower communities and individuals, to help communities become self-reliant and independent to motivate people to run where no one has run before, to encourage individuals to think out of the box, to reward artistic endeavour, to capture and preserve heritage and folk wisdom. The participants of beneficiary communities will key in all the Trust's activities. As will a strict monitoring process.

Arunalu Award from Anuradhapura Branch

Miss A. L. Isuri Anuradha of Deepani College Anuradhapura, receives her Arunalu Award from Mr. Asanka Wijayasinghe, Manager Anuradhapura Branch. Mr. Shaminda Fernando, Assistant Manager is also in the picture.

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Kaduruwela Branch promotes Education

Manager kaduruwela Branch handing over a cash price and a certificate to Miss. S. N. B. M. Nimesha Dilrukshi who obtained the highest marks in the Year5 Scholarship Exam at Indrarathana Vidyalaya, Polonnaruwa.

A donation by cheque to the Library of Bendiwewa maha Vidyalaya, Jayanthipura, Polonnaruwa, was handed over to the principal of the school by Mr. L. Adhihetty, Manager Kaduruwela Branch in the presence of other staff menbers of the Branch.

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Donations to Eye Hospital in Bangladesh

Combank Bangladesh donated BDT 1.5M to Islamia Eye hospital for the completion of the Childrens Eye Care unit of the hospital. 40 000 children are either blind or close to blind in bangladesh and one third of them could have their sight restored if treated properly. Renovation of the Childrens Eye Care unit will help provide treatment to 200-250 poor children every day using the latest technology.

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Contribution towards 'Dahasak Wew' Programme

As a contribution towards the "Dahasak Wew' programme launched by the Government, CBC recently handed over the tank, Udahingura Wewa near Kekirawa in Anuradhapura District, to the farmer associations of the area.

The Bank has already handed over two tanks Aliyamada Wewa and Lahu Wewa in April last year and Nugampola Wewa in June last year. All three tanks are located in the Kurunegala District. The Udahingura Wewa is the largest tank undertaken by the Bank for reconstruction with its water surface area extending to over six acres.

Mr. S M Chandrasena, Minister of Agrarian Service & Development of Farmer Communities and other Ministry Officials were attended at the ceremony of handing over the tank. Commercial Bank was represented by Mr. P V Ratnapala, Assistant General Manager - Personal Banking and Mr. M A Pemasiri, Deputy General Manager - Services.

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Houses to Tsunami affected in the South

Ten families living in the Matara district who lost their houses to the December 2004 tsunami, have been provided with new homes by the Commercial Bank of Ceylon.

The houses were built on the recipient’s own land or on land allocated to them by the government. The project cost more than Rs 5 million.

The houses were handed over to these families by the Managing Director of Commercial Bank Amitha Gooneratne in the presence of several government officials, customers of the Bank and residents of the area.

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Scholarship Scheme for Undergraduates

As the first higher education project undertaken by the CSR, undergraduates from around the country were awarded with scholarships of Rs 2500 per month. Initially, 100 undergraduates received cash scholarships at the presentation ceremony held under the patronage of Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake.

These students will receive scholarship money for the ten academic months of every year that they study at University. Under this scheme the Bank will pay out Rs 2.5 million annually.

The undergraduates who would benefit were chosen with the assistance of the University Grants Commission and followed the criteria used in the Mahapola Scholarship Scheme. Among the criteria used to identify deserving students was the number of attempts made at the A/L examination, the number of school-going children in the family, parental income and the distance between the university and the student’s home.

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Responding to the Tsunami

The tsunami mobilised human solidarity on an unprecedented scale and the Bank played its part in this magnificent humanitarian response. All the staff members contributed a day’s pay to set up a Relief Fund and this was used as core funds to reach out in a variety of ways to those who suffered at the hands of nature.

Approximately two and half million rupees was provided to staff who were directly affected by the tsunami from the Bank and the Relief Fund. Close to a million rupees in relief items were distributed to residents in the Ampara, Samanthurai, Galle, Matara, Hambantota and Mullaitivu areas. Books and stationery were distributed to school children in the Hambantota area.

The Bank partnered with the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) to raise funds for children who had been affected by the tsunami. The NCPA had formulated an ambitious psycho-social support programme for those children affected by the tsunami. The Bank was the principal sponsor and donated Rs. 500,000/- towards the musical show ‘Mahogaya’, which was held in May 2005 at the BMICH.

The show, at which some leading artistes performed, was an initiative of the Bank staff to raise funds to support this programme. The proceeds of this show were donated to the National Child Protection Authority.

All these activities were coordinated by the Joint Committee of all the Trade Unions of the Bank which was set up soon after the tsunami to spearhead the Bank’s tsunami relief effort.

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For Better Health Care

A Blood Donation programme was organized on October 29,2004 for the third consecutive year among the staff attached to the Head Office and Branches in close proximity to the Head Office, with the assistance of the National Blood Bank, Colombo . 60 staff members including the Employees of Service providers donated blood in this meritorious event. The Bank also contributed Rs. 250,000/- for setting up of a Dialysis Unit at the Nagoda Hospital .

In addition, the Bank donated equipment to the Lady Ridgeway Hospital and refurbished a ward at the Cancer Hospital .

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Scholarships for University Students

Last year the Bank set up a scholarship scheme to assist new entrants to universities who are in need of financial assistance. Those who come from low income families are eligible to apply. Initially, 100 scholarships will be provided for selected courses of study and each scholarshipholder will receive Rs. 2,500/- a month towards his or her university expenses. Priority will be given to orphans and those from single parent families. Receipients of these scholarships will be selected with the help of the University Grants Commission.

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Bonus for Year 5 Scholarship Winners

Children holding ‘Arunalu’ savings accounts with the Commercial Bank and who were among the top 3 in their respective schools at the Year 5 Scholarship Examination were given cash prizes amounting to Rs. 1,350,000/- by the Bank. Under this scheme, cash prizes of Rs. 10,000/-, Rs. 7,500/- and Rs. 5,000/- were paid for those placed first, second and third in each school, respectively. The objective was to reward educational excellence and cultivate the ‘savings’ habit among those children having accounts with the Bank.

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Improving Safety and Health at Work

A booklet on ‘Occupational Safety and Health at Work’ was sponsored by the Bank and released last year. The booklet, which is in English, is aimed at creating wareness
on some common issues in relation to safety and health in the workplace.

The booklet approaches the subject from a practical standpoint and deals with some of the physical, chemical, biological, ergonomical and psycho-social hazards encountered in offices, factories and other places of work. The booklet was launched by the Industrial Safety and Health Association (ISHA) which is a tripartite body consisting of employer representatives, employee representatives and representatives from the state. The Bank expects the booklet to be widely used in educational and other programmes surrounding workplace health and safety and was another contribution from the Bank towards creating safer and more productive workplaces.

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‘Green’ Lending

Commercial Bank was a ‘Participating Financial Institution’ in ‘E-Friends’ loan scheme under which funds were made available by the Japan Bank for International Corporation for granting loans at concessionary rates of interest to incentivise companies to pay greater attention to the environment. Loans were granted for the purchase of equipment that led to a reduction of emission, improved safety at the workplace or resulted in a reduction in the existing use of resources. Those who chose to relocate high polluting industries to estates equipped with special water treatment plants were also entitled to benefit under this scheme. Loan repayment extended up to 10 years at a concessionary interest rate of 6.50% per annum. Following on the success of this loan scheme, we have now joined the second such loan scheme ‘E-Friends II’ for disbursing loans for similar activities. In addition, under the Technical Transfer Assistance Scheme, loans are available to cover up to 75% of consulting costs incurred in dealing with problems relating to emission, control of pollution, water treatment, waste minimisation and similar issues at a special interest rate of 2% per annum.

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Flood Relief in Bangladesh

We have taken our culture of social responsibility to the region as well and last year our Bangladesh Operations donated Bangladesh Taka 1.500 million (Rs. 2.350 million) towards the flood relief in that country.

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Giving Pride to Seniority

As part of our efforts to nurture the country's social capital and to make best use of it, Reid Avenue Branch in Colombo 7 was chosen as the venue of our dedicated Senior Citizens' Branch. The branch has a reading room, a lounge and a pharmacy at which senior citizens can purchase medicinal drugs at concessionary rates. It's architecture is sensitive to the needs of the differently-abled. This dedicated branch, coupled with special banking solutions such as "Udara", makes banking a stroll on the beach for this segment of the population.

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Inspiring the ‘Differently-Abled’

The Commercial bank Social Responsibility Trust marked the ‘Month of the Disabled’ in a ‘different’ way in December 2005. Residents of the ‘Cheshire Home for the Differently-Abled’ in Mount Lavinia were invited to a special programme put together by the Bank. Nineteen differently abled people were brought to the Bank’s branch at Reid Avenue for an inspirational programme of musical entertainment and motivational talks. Besides providing light entertainment, the objectives of the programme were to acknowledge the contribution made by the differently - abled to society, to strengthen the morale and self esteem among this group.

Part of the programme included songs performed by a troupe from the Sri Lanka Council for the Blind. Apart from the invitees, representatives from the state, medical personnel and social activists also participated in the event. The Bank’s Reid Avenue branch was chosen for this programme due to its special architectural features which have made the building ‘differentlyabled’ friendly.

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Honouring the Bank’s Retired Employees

Last year, the Commercial Bank issued a special identity card for its retired employees. The special card was issued to recognise the contribution that these exemployees had made to the Bank and to provide them with access to special facilities when using the Bank’s services.

Every year, the Bank recruits about 250 new staff, many of whom are unaware of the contribution made by the senior members they replace. It is important to acknowledge the contribution made by senior employees, who through their dedication and commitment have made the Bank what it is today.

Through the use of this card retired employees of the Bank will get priority in accessing banking services and will be entitled to other special privileges which will grow in the years to come.

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Launch of "Hela Maga Visithuru"

Commercial Bank of Ceylon Limited has taken the initiative to record Sri Lanka's culturally rich folk wisdom by publishing(Hela Maga Visithuru) for the benefit of prosperity.

The book was launched with the objective of restoring and revitalizing Sri Lanka's mythological history, patriotism, religion, rituals, traditions, customs, cures and beliefs that have come down from generation to generation.

This worthy cause, which highlights the beliefs, rituals, the seemingly simple and innocuous practices of daily living of different people also aims at enlightening the present society to be more disciplined, well mannered, quality conscious and productive.

This 262-page book, which is the bank's maiden attempt, weaves historical facts and imaginative fiction into a serene tapestry that actually takes the reader by hand to the life and times of a bygone era. Readers are made aware of the phenomena of life, farming rituals, Sri Lankan customs, beliefs and superstitions, ancient medicinal techniques, birthstones, folklore, societal methodologies and proverbs. The book also contains attractive line-art illustrations.

The book was handed over to Prof. J. B. Dissanayaka by the Chairman, Mr. M. J. C. Amarasuriya at the book launch on 24th march 2004.

Hela Maga Visithuru will initially be available in Sinhala editions with Tamil and English versions to be published later. The volumes will be complimentarily distributed to libraries, universities, institutions, selected schools and other places of reference. Plans are also underway to host this book on the Web.

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Safe Bottle Lamp Project

As a part of it's Social responsibility Program, Commercial bank took initiatives to introduce Safe Bottle Lamps to rural homes. This is a much-needed program due to the unavailability of electricity in many parts of the island and the gravity of unsafe bottle lamp accidents.

Numerous homes without electricity and those facing power failures and power cuts, light makeshift bottle lamps to combat darkness. Utilizing highly flammable kerosene oil in unstable containers and placing them on tables is a perilous situation. Accidents are inevitable, particularly involving children who need light to study at night.

The basic bottle lamp designed by the Safe Bottle Lamp Foundation in Sri Lanka is cheap to manufacture and thus, can be mass produced using recycled glass. It has a low centre of gravity with a heavy bottom and two flat sides to prevent toppling. Furthermore; the screw-on metal lid stops any kerosene spillage. Most importantly, it is sold below cost price and therefore is affordable to the poor homes that desperately require it.

Commercial Bank gifted children from 30 schools in the three areas of Kaduruwela, Galewela, and Polonnaruwa with two safety lamps each for their homes. In addition, a short skit was performed at each school before handing out the lamps in order to ensure their effective utilization.

15 000 lamps were handed over under the first phase of this charitable project. However Commercial Bank hopes to take this project islandwide and appeals to other organizations and individuals to undertake similar community supporting activities.

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Donations for Flood Relief

Commercial bank donated Rs. 3 Million to the government for flood relief in year 2003. The cheque was handed over to Hon. K. N. Choksy , Minister of Finance, economic affairs, science & technology by the Managing Director, Mr. A. L. Goonaratne.

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