Annual Report 2012 - National Savings Bank

38HOW WE PERFORMED IN 2012OPERATIONAL REVIEWWe are forty years. Young, you may say,but not quite, because our foundingethos was one of being a savings bank.We retain that ethos, the vision of ourfounders, because that is fundamentalto the way we do business. But, with thisforty year heritage also comes the factthat we must remain with the people;that we espouse those age old valueswithin the roots we have strongly putdown in this country. We put downour roots as a savings bank, wantingSri Lankans to save not only to developthemselves but to develop the nation.Today, NSB’s roots have spread farand wide. Our entire persona is aboutspreading this ethos of being stronglyrooted, with a vision that is overarchingto ensure overall development. We havemoved beyond being simply a savingsbank, to one that is a leading corporatesteward observing trends and challengesto transform and innovate accordingly.For forty years, these roots ensuredthat from the savings we harnessed,a majority was invested in nationaldevelopment projects, whether it bein mega infrastructure projects forthe betterment of all or in investingin smaller communities to uplift theirlifestyles. While this formed a majorityof the savings mobilised, we alsoconcentrated on enabling Sri Lankansto meet their primary need, shelter.This meant that our reach, throughthe extensive branch network andthe numerous touch points, is able topermeate our concept of being rooted,into every Sri Lankan’s mindset, givingthem shelter, uplitng lifestyles anddeveloping the nation.Being rooted to our fundamentals iscrucial in this journey and what youread in the next few pages, will surely tellyou that we are true to our philosophy;empowering the people in a nationwhere geographic, economic and socialdemographics can be challenging.Accessibility and ReachEnhancedWe must ensure that we are strategicallylocated in geographic areas thatwill serve our customers better. It isimperative therefore that we spreadour roots enabling our stakeholdersto access our products and servicesbetter. For this, we have brought in atwo pronged approach. Firstly, to addmore branches to our network, thusspreading our roots astutely to reachall stakeholder segments and secondly,to infuse the imperatives of modernityand technology into existing branches,which will help us to be stronglyrooted in everything we do. We dothe latter by refurbishing, relocatingand rehabilitating them, all aligned towhat our stakeholders have told us theywant to see in us. We also continue toNumber220210200190180170160150Number of branchesat the end of the year186201021020112192012NATIONAL SAVINGS BANK . ANNUAL REPORT 2012