Annual Report 2012 - National Savings Bank

138BRANCHING OUT INTO NEW VENTURESSUSTAINABILITY REVIEWSTRATEGY AND ANALYSISA Message from the ChairmanFor years, NSB has been a trustedcustodian of the people of Sri Lankaand today, more than ever, we haveinvested in upholding this trust bycontinually improving our services forthe public of Sri Lanka and by ensuringthat our business operations aresustainable in the long term. I believethat long term sustainability of a largescale public nancial institution, suchas ours, is a key requirement for theoverall economic and social stability ofthe country as a whole. Therefore, wecontinued our quest to improve as asocially and environmentally sustainableinstitution, so that we continue to addvalue to our services to the nation.Given the wide impact of our activitieson Sri Lankan society, we remainedmindful of not only the quality ofour service delivery, but also of ourinvestments, lending and other projects,to minimise risks and ensure maximumbenets to the overall economyand society. More than 90% of ourinvestment portfolio is in government“I am happy to announcethat some of our newlyconstructed branches areequipped with rainwaterharvesting facilities as onesuch expression of thiscommitment to conserveour natural resources.”securities and we continued to supportnational infrastructure developmentprojects, because infrastructuredevelopment is extremely importantfor the country to move ahead in themodern world.As part of our contribution to the nationaldevelopment drive, we continued tolook at helping low income groups,rural communities and also people inthe war recovering North and East byproviding housing loans, personal loans,agricultural loans and pawning, and alsothrough project nancing.While catering to the needs of ruralpeople, we have also updated ourtechnologies aligned to global trends.Our internet banking and SMSbanking facilities have introducedmodern conveniences to peopleand our bill payment facilities, byconnecting with major utility suppliers,telecom providers and major insurancecompanies, provide a one-stop-shopconvenience for consumers.I believe our employees are a vitalelement in achieving our operationaland strategic goals and I strongly believethat employee satisfaction, results inhigher productivity that contributesdirectly to the bottom-line. Therefore,during the year we continued to trainand develop the skills of our employees.This has ensured the highest standardof service for our customers and alsocontributed towards improving thecompetitiveness of the bank.As a public institution, we are alsoacutely conscious of the need toconserve the environment for futuregenerations. Therefore, we continued toinvest in conserving natural resourcesand to mitigate environmental impactsthrough our activities. I am happyNATIONAL SAVINGS BANK . ANNUAL REPORT 2012