The Trade Finance Association of Bankers (TFAB) held its 24th Annual General Meeting in April, at the Rainbow Room, Grand Oriental Hotel, Colombo following strict health guidelines owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Trade Finance Association of Bankers which was formed in 1997, has been actively engaged in imparting knowledge and the required skills to its members who are Trade Practitioners by conducting seminars, lectures, discussions, workshops, trade educational tours and other activities on a wide range of topics relating to International Trade with the assistance of senior bankers who have mastered the subject in our local banks and other resource persons from various trade-related stakeholders. The Premium event of TFAB is Interbank Trade Finance Quiz and Social which promotes Trade Knowledge and Networking among its members.

TFAB provides an environment for Trade Practitioners representing all banks, to facilitate the exchange of views relating to trade, promote consistency in Trade Finance practices and to create the required skill set in the industry in supporting Trade. The membership comprises almost all commercial banks operating in Sri Lanka. The office-bearers of the Association from various banks are elected every year at its AGM. It is really fortunate to see some experienced and knowledgeable prominent veterans in the field of Trade Finance willingly sharing their knowledge and experience with new trade practitioners in all banks. The Association is backed by an Advisory Committee comprising of four senior bankers and past TFAB Presidents A. Kathiravelupillai (Inaugural President of TFAB and Former DGM –International of Bank of Ceylon), Michael Peiris (Former Head of Trade of Union Bank of Colombo PLC), Nilam Jumat (Former AGM – International of Hatton National Bank PLC), and Thushy David (Former Director, Head Global Subsidiary Coverage, Head of Trade and Cash Management Sales of Deutsche Bank), with extensive experience in the International Banking business.

Incumbent President Lawrian Somanader – Chief Manager – Heads the Exports at Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC was unanimously elected as the President of the Association. He holds a Master of Business Administration from UK. He possesses the ICC’s advanced Trade Finance qualification – Certified Trade Finance Professional (CTFP). He is also a member of the Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka. He counts over 30 years of banking experience that includes 27 years in International Trade-related services Imports, Exports at Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC. He also had the opportunity of working at the Corporate Credit banking division and having served in a Branch during his banking career. Mr. Somanader had held many responsible positions in the Trade Finance Association of Bankers such as the Senior Vice President and the Treasurer..

The following members were elected as office-bearers of the Trade Finance Association of Bankers for the year 2021/2022 during the Annual General Meeting.

President – Lawrian Somanader – Chief Manager, Exports, Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC

Senior Vice President – Rochelle Fernando – Assistant General Manager – Trade Services – Bank of Ceylon

Vice President- Shyam De Silva – Manager Operations – Centralized Trade Processing, Hatton National Bank PLC

Secretary General – K.R. Naguleswaran – Assistant Vice President, Correspondent Banking and Remittances, DFCC Bank PLC

Treasurer – Kasun Muthukuda – Manager – Trade and Supply Chain Finance, Nations Trust Bank PLC

Assistant Secretary – Indika Liyanage – Senior Manager, Trade Services, Pan Asia Banking Corporation PLC

Assistant Treasurer- Kanchana De Silva – Senior Manager – Trade Operations – Union Bank of Colombo PLC,

Council Members: Gaya Manamperi (Formerly at Sampath Bank PLC), Manjula Gunawardana(NDB Bank PLC), Neil Handapangoda (Citi Bank N.A.), Susantha Weerasinghe (People’s Bank), Tharinda Amarasinghe (Sampath Bank PLC), Niranjan Dabare (Deutsche Bank AG), K K Susantha (Bank of Ceylon), Saroja Pathirana (Sampath Bank PLC), Thilanke Weerasinghe (The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited), Dilan Wijegoonawardena (Seylan Bank PLC),Shehani Peter (Standard Chartered Bank), Malithi Maheeka (Cargills Bank), Eranda Weerakoon (Doha Bank)

Immediate Past President: A. S. M. W. Kumarasiri (Assistant General Manager, Trade Finance, People’s Bank)

The newly appointed President delivering his address pointed out the role played by the TFAB to the banking industry during its last 24 years of existence. He further stated that the knowledge imparted by TFAB by way of trade seminars, workshops, quiz competitions, trainings and knowledge forums to its membership was commendable. He also emphasised the importance of the TFAB newsletter as a knowledge sharing source and requested the membership to contribute more articles in order to enhance the number of publications.

He also spoke about such challenges with resilience that the world is going through since 2020 and how the banking industry is taking up that challenge in line with changing regulatory requirements.

Finally, he thanked the previous presidents for their leadership and thanked the membership for electing him to steer the association to greater heights and pledged his commitment towards the betterment of TFAB.

The Secretary General, in his address thanked the membership for the election of the present office-bearers and the council who will steer the objectives of the TFAB in 2021 /2022.