Union Bank rang the opening bell to commence trading at the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) yesterday to mark its 25th anniversary as part of a series of events organised by the Bank to celebrate this significant milestone.
Speaking at the market opening ceremony at the CSE, Director and CEO of Union Bank, Indrajit Wickramasinghe said, this year the Bank will continue to reinforce its Retail, SME businesses while capitalising on its clear competitive advantages to generate sustainable earnings. Moreover, he said expanding network and fully integrated product portfolio will take retail banking of the union bank to grow even at a faster phase.
In addition, he said the bank will also include digitization as part of its retail franchise to bring about customer convenience and accessibility. Speaking further, Wickramasinghe said since the listing of Union Bank at the Stock Exchange, in 2011, the bank has maintained a progressive relationship with the CSE over the years and has contributed to the capital market in numerous ways.
Noting that the IPO of Union bank in 2011 was a milestone in its successful journey of growth, Wickramasinghe added that the listing and broad basing of shareholding has indeed benefited the bank in numerous ways. “Union bank has been playing a significant role in the capital market, driving foreign investment into the country which includes the landmark transaction with TPG Capital.
Moreover, Union bank has strengthened its position further when it was listed in S &P SL 20 listing in 2018,” he said. Over the last 25 years Wickramasinghe said the bank has evolved in many ways, however he said the turning point was the significant investment that the global giant TPG made in Union Bank.
“It was one of the largest foreign direct investments into the financial services sector. From that point, the bank has performed itself and invested heavily in peoples’ processes and systems. Today bank is a fully fledged commercial bank in Sri Lanka.” he noted.
He said further that Union Bank demonstrated a healthy performance amidst the challenging macro-economic environment in the year 2019, recording a significant increase in profits.
“The future of Union Bank is exciting and we invite our stakeholders to benefit from the multi-dimensional growth of the Bank in the coming years,” Wickramasinghe stated.
Commenting at the event, CSE Chief Executive Officer Rajeeva Bandaranaike commended the progress made by the Bank since its inception in 1995 and thanked the leadership of the organisation for selecting the CSE bell ringing platform to celebrate this significant milestone. He also noted the strides made by the Bank within the banking industry continuing to offer investors value over the years and opportunities to be a part of the Bank’s growth.
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