The Case Study - Seylan Bank

Seylan Bank PLC Annual Report 2009 61Corporate GovernanceWith a view to enhance corporate governancepractices, several structural improvements wereeffected in the course of the year. These are detailedin the Corporate Governance Report on page 75.OperationsDespite the year’s troubles, we took a firm decisionto continue increasing the reach and relevance ofSeylan Bank to customers through the expansionof our network of outlets, especially in the North ofthe country. A new fully-fledged branch was openedat Nelliady and new ‘convenient banking centres’ atManipay and Chankanai. Our established branchesat Ja-Ela and Malabe were relocated in the interestsof greater efficiency and customer access. Pawningcentres were set up at the Bank’s branches, andfour more ATMs were added to the network.MarketingMarketing activity was emphasised in retailbanking, where competitive pressures increasedlast year. We continued to offer a number of loyaltyand rewards programmes to our customers,such as the Merit Rewards scheme on savingsand current accounts, the Thilina Sayura schemefor foreign-currency account holders and a giftscheme for our Tikiri savings accounts for minors.A special deposit-mobilisation campaign washeld from June to August 2009. The objective ofthe campaign was to raise Rs. 2 Bn. in 50 days.The campaign exceeded its target by as much andmore, raising a total of Rs. 4.2 Bn. and was judgeda great success.During the period when the troubles of theCeylinco Group impacted strongly on the Bank, wecommenced a special effort to retain customersthrough a house-to-house campaign known asJaya Maga. The campaign, still under way, hasyielded very good results.The Marketing Department undertook acustomer satisfaction survey in the course of theyear. The survey revealed that perceptions of servicequality were good, with the Bank receiving an averagescore of 74% on the parameters tested.Information technologyModern banking is uncompromisingly technological.Seylan Bank’s 100-plus branches and convenientbankingcentres are linked through a singleautomated network, which makes possible customerservice quality and product access anywhere on thenetwork and to customers overseas as well as inSri Lanka. This network supports and enables allthe features customers expect of a modern bank:ATMs, telephone, mobile and Internet banking, andcredit cards, as well as traditional high street bankingservices and Seylan’s pioneering mobile branches. Allthese are connected via state-of-the-art IT.Improvements to our IT capability during thecourse of the year included enhancements to theSMS banking module and greater functionality withrespect to funds transfers, utility-bill payments,etc. We also supported the introduction of theSeylan Bank MasterCard.