The Case Study - Seylan Bank

Swift and Decisive Action33Mr. Narangoda outlined these objectives in a highly publicised mediabriefing on 8th January 2009. The Executive Chairman also used this occasionto share the new board’s perspective on the recent crisis, revealing that a totalof Rs. 7 Bn. had been withdrawn in the preceding weeks:“We have honoured each and every customer who came to withdrawmoney and never turned them back at any single point... I must also tell youthat when the Central Bank intervened and appointed a new board of directors,public perception changed and many customers who earlier withdrew moneyin fact returned to this Bank to do their financial transactions.”Seylan Bank subsequently announced that it would be reducing its lendingto companies in the Ceylinco Group. It was the first in a series of signals thatthe Bank was distancing itself not only from Golden Key, but also from thelarger conglomerate of which it was a part.The failed credit card company continued to generate headlines inearly January, both for the deepening legal difficulties of its principals andfor Ceylinco’s repeated assurances that it would soon begin paying backdepositors. In the weeks and months that followed, there were further protestsby angry Golden Key customers as well as employees - along with wideningcriminal investigations, high-profile arrests and revelations that other Ceylincosubsidiaries faced serious financial problems.At Seylan Bank, meanwhile, that 8th January news conference wasfollowed by a series of proactive steps aimed at getting key messages fullyaired and understood by customers and the general public. It was clear thatcommunications, even ahead of specific management changes, would play avital role in getting the Bank back on a solid footing.