Strategic priorities and value creation

Our strategy focuses on delivering resilient, risk-adjusted returns while strengthening the Group's role in inclusive and sustainable growth. In 2025, we prioritised protecting our core fundamentals – capital strength, liquidity, and asset quality – while accelerating growth in priority segments through digital productivity, customer-led ecosystems, talent development, and ESG-integrated banking. Execution is guided by disciplined resource allocation and explicit trade-offs to favour long-term value creation over short-term outcomes.

Resource allocation

Delivering on our strategy requires deliberate and disciplined resource allocation. The Group adopts a structured approach to directing financial, technological, and human capital toward initiatives that maximise stakeholder value while being aligned with long-term strategic priorities.

Resource allocation decisions are guided by four foundational principles:

• Strategic Alignment: Align capital, technology, and talent deployment with clearly defined strategic priorities.
• Efficiency and Productivity: Drive operating leverage and scalability through digital enablement and process optimisation.
• Risk-Adjusted Returns: Allocate capital to optimise returns within established risk appetite and governance parameters.
• Sustainability Integration: Incorporate ESG considerations into allocation decisions, supporting green financing and responsible business practices.

Within this structure, the Bank prioritises investments that strengthen both performance and sustainability:

• Capital, liquidity & balance sheet optimisation – maintaining strong capital adequacy and liquidity buffers while optimising portfolio mix and growth.
• Risk, compliance & resilience – strengthening ERM, stress testing, AML, cyber resilience and governance oversight.
• Digital, data & productivity – accelerating unified platforms, automation and analytics to improve efficiency and scalability.
• Customer growth & product innovation – deepening customer ecosystems, partnerships and differentiated product propositions.
• People & sustainability integration – building a future-ready workforce while embedding ESG into capital allocation, underwriting and operations.

Collectively, these priorities translate strategy into measurable action across financial and non-financial capitals.

Strategic trade-offs

The Bank applies disciplined judgment to ensure that decisions enhance long-term value rather than short-term outcomes. Key strategic trade-offs include:

• Short-term profitability vs. long-term sustainability
• Innovation vs. risk management
• Global expansion vs. local market focus
• Standardisation vs. customisation
• Employee specialisation vs. multiskilling
• Centralisation vs. decentralisation

Strategic review: Stability beneath, Acceleration ahead

The Bank’s strategic direction, grounded in disciplined resource allocation and balanced trade-offs translated into focused execution. In 2025, the Bank’s strategic focus centered on fortifying its foundational strength while simultaneously positioning core business units for rapid expansion as market conditions stabilised. By balancing deep-rooted stability with a high-velocity approach to innovation, the Bank reinforced its position as a resilient leader, supporting both national recovery and industrial growth.

Our progress is driven by five purpose-led strategic enablers:

• Sustainable Market Leadership & Growth: Building on a bedrock of disciplined credit quality to drive expansion across Corporate, SME, and Retail portfolios.
• Pervasive Digital Transformation: Integrating data, advanced analytics, and automation to evolve from operational optimisation to predictive, intelligence-led banking.
• Unrivalled Customer Centricity: Ensuring seamless, high-velocity omnichannel engagement and personalised solutions that build enduring relationships.
• Talent & Culture Excellence: Cultivating an agile, high-performance workforce equipped with specialised expertise to sustain excellence in a changing industry.
• ESG Integration & Responsible Banking: Embedding environmental and social principles into the core of our business to ensure that our acceleration is both responsible and inclusive.

The Figure 13 illustrates how disciplined resource allocation and balanced trade-offs create the foundation for stability, while the five strategic enablers drive acceleration and execution across the Bank.

These strategic elements are ultimately translated into measurable outcomes through the Bank’s core business segments. In 2025, these units leveraged the Group’s foundational stability to drive quality asset growth and market-leading performance, supporting the revival of the national economy while capturing new opportunities in a stabilising landscape.

Personal banking: Strategic leadership through innovation and inclusion

The Personal Banking Division, encompassing the SME and Retail segments, serves as the primary engine for the Group’s financial performance, standing as the highest contributor to net interest income, net fee and commission income, and total net operating income. In 2025, the division balanced its leading market position with a focus on intelligent risk management and a revitalised commitment to development banking.

Key performance highlights: SME & Development Banking

• Sustained Market Leadership: Retained the position as Sri Lanka’s highest SME lender for the fifth consecutive year, accounting for 30.3% of SME lending among 16 state and private sector banks in Sri Lanka.
• Development Banking & Grassroots Focus: Successfully expanded the development banking mandate by channeling credit to underserved sectors, focusing on grassroots economic empowerment and specialised support for small-scale entrepreneurs.
• Launch of ComBank Shakthi Agency Banking: Successfully launched the ComBank Shakthi agency banking network, a flagship initiative designed to provide essential financial services to underserved rural communities.
• Intelligent Underwriting & Speed: Introduced the country’s first AI-powered SME underwriting solution, significantly accelerating the end-to-end credit evaluation process while strengthening risk calibration through data-driven scoring models.
• Digital Ecosystem for Growth: Strengthened SME digital connectivity and global market access through Commercial Bank LEAP GlobalLinker (ComLEAP GlobalLinker)
• Ecosystem Financing: Expanded supply chain and dealer financing solutions, effectively linking SMEs to anchor corporates to improve the stability of transaction-backed lending.
• Advanced women-focused financial inclusion through the establishment of an Exclusive Women’s Banking Centre and dedicated support for female entrepreneurs.

Key performance highlights: Retail Banking

• Market Share Dominance: Strengthened competitive positioning across core asset classes, retaining the No. 1 position in Home Loans and significantly increasing market share in the Leasing segment.
• Analytics-Driven Efficiency: Deployed AI-based underwriting models for personal loans, which enhanced approval speed and credit precision while optimising cross-sell opportunities.
• Product Innovation: Differentiated the Bank’s offering with the “Pay 1%” Home Loan product, which improved affordability and accessibility for first-time homeowners.
• Ecosystem-Led Growth Strategy: Strengthened partnerships with property developers, vehicle suppliers, educational institutions, and green energy providers to drive early engagement, improve conversions, and embed financing at the point of purchase.
• Frictionless Service Delivery: Improved customer experience by digitising pawning part-payments and other routine transactions, significantly reducing manual intervention and improving service responsiveness.

Driving sustainable impact

The division prioritised financial inclusion and community empowerment as fundamental components of its growth strategy.

• Financial Inclusion & Reach: Through the launch and rapid expansion of the ComBank Shakthi network, the Bank significantly increased its footprint in deep-rural areas.
• SME Capacity Building: Conducted extensive financial literacy and entrepreneurship training programs across the country to empower SME owners with the skills needed for sustainable business growth.
• Empowering Diverse Segments: Facilitated dedicated support and mentorship initiatives for female entrepreneurs and youth-led businesses to foster equitable economic growth.
• Green Retail Solutions: Promoted environmentally responsible consumption by offering specialised financing for solar energy systems and eco-friendly vehicle leasing.

Outlook: Strategic priorities

• Retail Transformation: Advance a comprehensive retail transformation project to enhance operating efficiency and redefine the end-to-end customer journey for greater speed and convenience.
• AI-Powered Ecosystem: Expand AI-based credit underwriting across all retail and SME lending categories to establish a fully digitalised, frictionless lending ecosystem.
• Integrated SME Ecosystem: Expand Commercial Bank LEAP GlobalLinker to enhance SME connectivity, widen market access and strengthen ecosystem partnerships driving seamless and inclusive growth.
• Deepening Inclusion: Further expand the reach of the ComBank Shakthi agency banking network to ensure formal financial services are accessible in every corner of the country.
• Supply Chain & Distributor Finance Expansion: Continue an aggressive growth trajectory in supply chain and distributor financing portfolios.

Corporate banking: Strategic growth with resilience and innovation

The Corporate Banking Division served as the Bank’s strategic driver for high-value credit and relationship management. By focusing on top-tier corporate clientele and large-scale enterprises, the division anchored the Bank’s transition "from turbulence towards tranquillity " through disciplined, quality growth that directly supported the revival of the national economy.

Key performance highlights

• Asset Growth and Diversification: Achieved significant growth in project financing and successfully onboarded a substantial number of new-to-bank corporate relationships, diversifying the portfolio across key industrial sectors.
• Trade Finance Leadership: Capitalised on the relaxation of import restrictions to meet surging demand for trade finance and foreign currency facilities, while accelerating client enrollment into our digital trade platforms.
• Digital and Operational Agility: Launched advanced operational and sales dashboards and a digital delinquency monitoring system, enhancing real-time risk visibility and shifting focus toward strategic decision-making.
• Enhanced Service Model: Repositioned our iconic Foreign Branch as a dedicated Corporate Branch – a first-of-its-kind in the country – providing specialised trade, treasury, offshore banking, and advisory services.
• Financial Performance: Recorded strong growth in profitability, supported by robust asset expansion and improved portfolio quality.
• Inclusive Financial Solutions: Strengthened our commitment to diverse corporate needs through specialised Islamic Banking and Investment Banking solutions.

Driving sustainable impact

The Division has fully embedded ESG principles and sustainable finance strategies into credit underwriting, aligning the portfolio with the Bank’s commitment to long-term value creation.

• Green Finance Excellence: Significantly expanded the green and climate financing portfolio, exceeding targets and facilitating the Bank’s inaugural Tier 2 green bond issuance.
• Responsible Lending: Formalised the integration of Social and Environmental (E&S) risk scoring into credit evaluations for large corporate clients to institutionalise ESG due diligence.
• Environmental Stewardship: Progressed targeted biodiversity and restoration initiatives aligned to the Bank’s sustainability priorities.

Outlook: Strategic priorities

• Digital Transformation: Execute the full rollout of a comprehensive corporate digital business platform to offer seamless, automated cash management and trade solutions.
• Strategic Expansion: Continue an aggressive growth trajectory in corporate lending and project financing, with a primary focus on supporting renewable energy and large-scale infrastructure.
• Sustainable Finance: Advance ESG transformation and advisory services for mid-sized corporates while continuing to expand the green financing pipeline.
• Product Depth: Introduce compliant Islamic products and automated inventory-based financing systems to broaden segment reach and enhance collateral management.
• Talent and Specialisation: Transition toward a sector-expert relationship model and upskill the workforce in emerging technologies and specialised technical domains to maintain a competitive edge.

International Banking: Geographic diversification and yield optimisation

The Bank formally established International Banking as a dedicated business line to serve as a strategic driver for earnings diversification. By deploying surplus foreign currency liquidity into high-yielding international credit opportunities, the division has significantly enhanced the Bank’s global footprint and profitability.

Key performance highlights

• Strategic Portfolio Expansion: The cross-border lending portfolio nearly doubled during the year through disciplined execution and selective engagement in emerging and frontier markets.
• Diversified Asset Deployment: Successfully executed a range of transactions, including primary syndications, secondary acquisitions,

bilateral facilities, and risk participations in partnership with Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) and leading global banks.

• Optimised Yield Management: Leveraged global market opportunities to maximise returns on USD liquidity, contributing to a more resilient and geographically diversified income stream.
• Institutional Partnership Growth: Strengthened collaborations with international financial institutions, enhancing the Bank’s reputation as a reliable partner in large-scale global credit facilities.
• Digital Portfolio Oversight: Implemented advanced digital dashboards to provide real-time visibility into portfolio performance, concentration risks, and country-specific exposures.

Driving sustainable impact

The International Banking Division integrated ESG principles into its credit and investment decisions, aligning growth with sustainable finance objectives.

• ESG-Integrated Credit Evaluation: Embedded ESG assessments into counterparty due diligence and credit appraisal processes.
• SDG-Aligned Financing: Prioritised transactions supporting financial inclusion, clean energy, and sustainable infrastructure in line with the UN SDGs.
• ESG-Labelled Participation: Engaged in green and sustainability-linked syndicated facilities to promote responsible financing structures.

Outlook: Strategic priorities

• Disciplined Portfolio Growth: Expand the cross-border loan book prudently, preserving credit quality, sustainable risk-adjusted returns, and Net Interest Margin stability amid Foreign Currency liquidity dynamics.
• Syndicated Lending Leadership: Selectively pursue Lead Arranger and Joint Mandated Lead Arranger roles to strengthen market positioning and distribution capability.
• Geographic Diversification: Deepen presence in core Southeast Asian markets while entering select emerging markets through DFI supported structures.
• Strategic Partnerships: Strengthen collaboration with multilateral institutions, international banking partners, law firms, and rating agencies to enhance execution and deal flow access.
• ESG Integration: Increase exposure to sustainability-linked and ESG-aligned facilities to support responsible cross-border growth.
• Capability & Digital Enhancement: Invest in Artificial Intelligence–driven analytics, portfolio monitoring systems, and talent development to support scalable and risk-intelligent expansion.

Transaction Banking: Facilitating trade and global connectivity

The Bank’s Transaction Banking capabilities served as a vital link for the national economy, managing the seamless flow of commercial trade and individual global remittances. By leveraging a vast international network and advanced digital infrastructure, the Bank strengthened its role in facilitating foreign exchange liquidity and supporting the livelihoods of millions.

Key performance highlights: Trade finance

• Market Leadership in Trade: Reinforced the Bank’s position as a leader in external trade, successfully increasing market share in both export and import sectors.
• Turnover Growth: Recorded robust volumes in trade turnover, capitalising on the relaxation of import restrictions and improved global trade dynamics.
• Digital Trade Adoption: Accelerated the enrollment of corporate and SME clients into the Bank's proprietary digital trade platform, enabling end-to-end online processing and reducing manual documentation.
• Operational Efficiency: Improved service delivery through paperless digital workflows and electronic archiving, which significantly enhanced turnaround times and internal productivity.

Key performance highlights: Global remittances

• Sustained Remittance Growth: Achieved continued year-on-year growth from 2023 onwards, contributing to record national inflows and strengthening foreign currency liquidity.
• Global Service Centre Launch: Established a dedicated overseas professional desk to enhance expatriate engagement, deepen relationships, and unlock cross-selling and deposit growth opportunities.
• Liquidity & CASA Enhancement: Supported balance sheet resilience through stable remittance inflows, improved foreign currency funding, and strengthened Current and Savings Account balances.
• Revenue Stabilisation: Successfully navigated post-pandemic and crisis recovery, with revenues stabilising following the strong rebound in 2023.

Driving sustainable impact

• Digital Financial Inclusion: Expanded secure, low-cost digital channels to support underserved communities and migrant workers in receiving international funds efficiently.
• Paperless & Sustainable Trade Operations: Accelerated migration to digital trade platforms, reducing paper usage, minimising SWIFT printouts, and advancing toward a fully paperless trade environment.
• Green Trade Facilitation: Enabled imports of solar equipment, energy-efficient machinery, and electric mobility solutions, supporting the transition toward sustainable infrastructure and industry.
• Migrant Financial Literacy & Inclusion: Integrated financial education into pre-departure programs to instill a culture of savings and long-term wealth creation among overseas workers.
• SME Trade Enablement: Provided advisory support, tailored trade credit lines, and documentation training to help export-oriented SMEs access global markets.
• Humanitarian & Community Support: Facilitated secure and transparent fund transfers in collaboration with humanitarian agencies, strengthening national resilience during crisis periods.
• Responsible Trade Governance: Strengthened Trade-Based Money Laundering controls, sanctions screening, and regulatory alignment to ensure ethical and transparent cross-border transactions.

Outlook: Strategic priorities

• End-to-End Digital Trade Leadership: Expand automation across import and export workflows, implement AI based document checking, and deploy advanced dashboards for performance monitoring and risk management.
• Share & Corridor Expansion: Deepen presence in core trade sectors while exploring new trade corridors and partnerships aligned with the Bank’s international expansion strategy.
• Data-Driven Risk & Compliance Enhancement: Fully automate sanction screening and strengthen analytics-driven monitoring of Trade-Based Money Laundering and regulatory compliance.
• Customer-Centric Trade Ecosystem: Increase digital adoption, embed design-thinking initiatives to enhance service delivery, and strengthen collaboration with Corporate and Personal Banking divisions.
• Capability & Talent Development: Invest in advanced analytics, digital tools, and structured technical training to maintain competitiveness in an evolving global trade landscape.

Treasury: Capital Resilience, Liquidity, and Market Leadership

In 2025, the Treasury Division played a pivotal role in anchoring the Bank’s financial stability and supporting its transition “from turbulence towards tranquillity”. By maintaining a robust capital base and managing liquidity with precision, the division ensured the Bank remained resilient while capitalising on evolving market opportunities to drive non-interest income.

Key Performance Highlights

• Capital Strength and Green Innovation: Successfully issued a Rs. 15 Bn. Basel III-compliant Tier II Green Bond, which strengthened regulatory capital buffers and provided dedicated funding for sustainable lending initiatives.
• Robust Liquidity Management: Maintained high liquidity standards with an average Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) of over 390%, consistently exceeding regulatory requirements and ensuring a strong cushion against market volatility.
• Yield Optimisation and Income Diversification: Achieved strong performance in non-interest income through active portfolio realignment and strategic trading in government securities, foreign exchange, and swaps.
• Strategic FX and Hedging Solutions: Strengthened engagement with corporate and international clients by providing tailored foreign exchange hedging strategies and advisory services, helping them navigate global geopolitical uncertainties.
• Disciplined Risk Oversight: Reinforced structural interest rate risk management through a refined Funds Transfer Pricing (FTP) framework and independent monitoring using advanced metrics like Earnings-at-Risk and Economic Value Sensitivity.

Driving sustainable impact

The Treasury Division was instrumental in advancing the Bank's sustainability agenda through strategic capital mobilisation.

• Sustainable Finance Mobilisation: Facilitated the Bank's landmark green bond issuance, aligning the capital structure with long-term environmental objectives.
• Sustainable Capital Market Facilitation: Enabled ESG–linked bond issuances to finance green and social projects, promoting responsible investment flows.
• Prudent Risk Governance: Strengthened oversight through Asset and Liability Committee (ALCO) governance, independent risk monitoring, Earnings-at-Risk, and Economic Value Sensitivity frameworks to ensure long-term financial stability.

Outlook: Strategic priorities (2026 and beyond)

• Capital Optimisation: Continue to proactively manage the Bank’s capital structure to support aggressive growth targets in corporate and SME lending while maintaining healthy buffers.
• Digital Treasury Transformation: Implement advanced technological solutions to enhance real-time liquidity monitoring and automate routine treasury operations for greater efficiency.
• Market Expansion: Explore opportunities to expand the Bank’s presence in regional and international financial markets, leveraging existing partnerships with global banks and DFIs.
• Data-Driven Decisioning: Enhance the use of predictive analytics and stress-testing models to anticipate market shifts and optimise the Bank’s investment portfolio performance.

Payments business: Enabling seamless global commerce and fee-based growth

The Payments Business serves as a high-frequency strategic engine for the Bank, acting as the primary driver of sustainable fee-based income and digital transaction leadership. By integrating advanced card technologies with a rapidly expanding digital payment ecosystem, the division has effectively transitioned routine banking into a seamless, “invisible” experience for both retail and corporate segments.

Key performance highlights

• Market Leadership and Momentum: Reinforced the Bank’s dominant position by maintaining the No. 1 rank in Debit Card issuance and usage, the No. 1 position in LANKAQR through the flagship payment app, and leading positions in the acquiring and credit card markets.
• Pioneering Product Innovation: Strengthened competitive positioning through several “market-firsts”, including the enablement of Google Pay in Sri Lanka and the introduction of Dynamic Currency Conversion for the Internet Payment Gateway (IPG).
• Accelerating Digital Adoption: Recorded exceptional transaction growth with Q+ Payment App usage up 67%, IPG volumes up 27%, and POS acquiring up 24%, reflecting a clear market shift toward digital-first payment behaviors.
• Enhanced Global Value Proposition: Expanded premium offerings by providing global lounge access for elite cardholders and tailored international benefits to support high-value travel and lifestyle segments.
• Operational Efficiency and Sustainability: Improved service delivery through enhanced fraud monitoring and digital self-service features.

Driving sustainable impact

The Payments Business aligns closely with the Bank’s sustainability pillars by promoting digital inclusion and reducing environmental impact.

• Paperless & Digital Migration: Expanded e-Statement adoption beyond 60% of the total base, introduced SMS-based PIN issuance, and initiated digital receipts at ATMs to significantly reduce paper usage.
• Promotion of Cashless Ecosystem: Positioned Q+ and contactless solutions as key enablers of secure, low-cost digital payments, expanding financial inclusion and reducing environmental impact.
• Green Financing Support: Conducted special low-cost promotions for solar-related purchases through Credit Cards, encouraging renewable energy adoption
• Responsible Governance & Data Protection: Strengthened fraud prevention, cybersecurity controls, and compliance with Personal Data Protection regulations to ensure ethical and secure digital payments.

Outlook: Strategic priorities (2026 and beyond)

• Digital & Cardless Expansion: Scale virtual cards, tokenisation, mobile wallets, and embedded finance to advance a digital-first ecosystem.
• Artificial Intelligence & Automation: Expand predictive analytics, automated credit decisions, and fraud detection capabilities.
• Customer-Centric Innovation: Transform Q+ into a lifestyle platform with enhanced self-service and personalised offerings.
• Merchant & Acquiring Growth: Expand tap-on-phone, Quick Response (QR) acceptance, and merchant partnerships.
• Risk & Capability Enhancement: Strengthen cybersecurity resilience and develop future-ready payment expertise to sustain competitiveness.

Strategic enablers: Powering the future of banking

The performance and market leadership achieved across our business segments are underpinned by the Bank’s cross-functional strategic enablers. These are not merely support functions but the structural drivers that ensure our growth is intelligent, inclusive, and resilient. The following sections detail how Pervasive Digital Transformation and ESG Integration are evolving the Bank from operational excellence toward predictive, intelligence-led leadership

Innovating customer-centric solutions and digital leadership

Digital transformation serves as the structural backbone of the Bank’s operating model, evolving from operational optimisation to a pervasive, intelligence-led banking ecosystem. By integrating data, analytics, automation, and infrastructure modernisation, the Bank ensures that digital capability now underpins every core function – from seamless customer onboarding and hyper-personalised engagement to robust risk management.

Strategic achievements in 2025

• Unrivalled Digital Scale: Digital penetration reached 56%, with a user base of 1.8 Mn. conducting 74 million transactions valued at Rs. 7.5 Tn.
• Intelligence-Led Credit: AI-powered SME underwriting and Retail credit models significantly improved approval speed, accuracy, and portfolio calibration.
• Customer Journey Simplification: Streamlined fund transfers by removing branch selection steps, enhanced login and password recovery interfaces, and enabled automated acknowledgements for secure messages, improving usability and convenience.
• Stronger Controls & Risk Safeguards:Introduced additional validations for eSavings account opening, implemented time-bound temporary limit enhancements, and strengthened backend controls for device management.
• Infrastructure Resilience: Technology infrastructure was fortified through Hyper-Converged Infrastructure expansion and Active-Active system architecture, achieving 99.98% system availability.
• Advanced Cyber Defense: Enhanced institutional trust through the launch of a Managed Security Operations Centre, ensuring robust protection against evolving digital threats.
• Enhanced Portfolio Monitoring: In International Banking, the deployment of digital dashboards provided real-time visibility into portfolio surveillance and increased covenant tracking efficiency.

Driving Impact through service excellence

• Digital Financial Inclusion: Expanded secure, trilingual digital banking access across retail, SME, corporate, and overseas segments, bridging rural and underserved communities.
• Paperless & Carbon Reduction: Accelerated digitisation of investments, standing orders, statements, and payments, delivering significant paper savings.
• National Digital Literacy Leadership: Conducted extensive digital awareness and cybersecurity programmes across schools, universities, SMEs, government institutions, and law enforcement to promote safe and inclusive digital adoption.
• Environmental Stewardship Innovation: Launched Sri Lanka’s first financial-sector Solitary Bee Conservation Initiative, integrating biodiversity conservation with rural empowerment and sustainable agriculture.

Outlook: Strategic priorities

• Unified Digital Ecosystem: Build a single, seamlessly connected digital platform with integrated channels and consistent user experience across Retail and Business banking.
• Retail & Business Transformation: Modernise onboarding, payments, and self-service capabilities while enhancing business banking through integrated digital solutions and embedded services.
• Data-Driven Personalisation: Leverage analytics, automation, and journey orchestration to deliver hyper-personalised experiences and drive sustainable revenue growth.
• Global Scalability & Innovation: Develop modular, secure, and adaptable digital platforms aligned with emerging technologies and international expansion goals.
• Digital-First Culture: Strengthen digital capabilities, empower staff with modern tools, and embed a culture of continuous innovation and agility.

ESG integration & responsible banking

The Bank’s approach to economic and social impact is a core strategic enabler, operationalised through three interconnected pillars: Sustainable Banking, Responsible Organisation, and Community Engagement. This integrated structure ensures that sustainability considerations are embedded into lending, governance, operations, and community investment, reinforcing the principle that economic performance and social responsibility are mutually reinforcing objectives.

Sustainable banking

We have successfully integrated ESG principles into our core banking activities, ensuring that capital deployment supports long-term value creation and national resilience.

• Green Financing Excellence: The total green financing portfolio reached Rs. 71.2 Bn., supporting renewable energy and environmentally aligned projects. This includes a Rs. 30.6 Bn. corporate green portfolio backed by a strong renewable energy pipeline.
• Strategic Capital Mobilisation: Successfully issued a Rs. 15 Bn Basel III-compliant Green Bond, strengthening capital buffers while providing dedicated funding for environmentally aligned lending.
• Responsible Credit Underwriting: Sustainability considerations are embedded into credit appraisal and risk assessment processes across Corporate, SME, and Retail segments. This includes formal Environmental and Social (E&S) risk scoring for large corporate clients to institutionalise ESG due diligence.
• Climate Transition Planning: Progressed the Bank’s Climate Transition Plan, strengthening the alignment between portfolio strategy and long-term environmental sustainability objectives.

Refer section on Sustainable banking for further details.

Responsible organisation

The Bank is committed to maintaining a safe, inclusive, and accountable organisational environment through structured governance and digital efficiency.

• Sustainability Governance: Strategic oversight is maintained through structured Board oversight and management accountability, with senior leadership representation on key governance committees like the newly formed Board Sustainability Committee (BSC) and Executive Sustainability Committee (ESC).
• Transparency and Disclosure: Progressed alignment with SLFRS Sustainability-related Financial Disclosure Standards, enhancing the transparency and consistency of ESG reporting. Refer Sustainability-related Financial Disclosures
• Operational Resource Management: Accelerated the transition to a paperless office through digital instructions and document management systems, significantly reducing manual paperwork and physical storage needs.

Refer section on Responsible organisation for further details.

Community engagement

Our commitment to society is driven by long-term partnerships and a strategic focus on education and financial inclusion.

• Strategic CSR Investment: Cumulative CSR investments have exceeded Rs. 1.44 Bn., with a primary focus on education and digital empowerment.
• National Digital Literacy: Expanded the National Digital Literacy Drive to 429 IT labs nationwide, providing underserved schools with essential digital access.
• Environmental Stewardship: Engaged in high-impact initiatives including beach cleaning projects at Crow Island and ongoing reforestation efforts with over 300 plants under regular monitoring.
• Sustainable Livelihoods: Enhanced economic stability through targeted social enterprise interventions in apiculture and solar-enabled dairy farming.

Refer section on Community engagement for further details.

Outlook: Strategic sustainability priorities

Looking ahead, the Bank will further embed ESG as a core strategic driver shaping capital allocation and operational practices.

• Portfolio Alignment: Continue aligning portfolio growth with the Climate Transition Plan and expanding environmentally aligned lending.
• Advanced Risk Integration: Further embed ESG risks within the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework and enhance data governance for sustainability disclosures.
• Deepening Inclusion: Strengthen women-focused financial inclusion efforts and continue structured, education-focused CSR investments, including the expansion of STEM and vocational initiatives.