Business
‘Mission focus’ helps ComBank Group end tough 2021 with solid growth
Net interest income up 30.56% to Rs 66.416 billion
Bank’s CASA ratio strengthens further to 47.83%, an industry benchmark
Bank’s Cost to Income Ratio (excluding VAT on Financial Services)
improves to 31.61% from 33.95% at end 2020 and 38.51% at end 2019
Total taxes increased to Rs 14.512 billion
Impairment charges increased by 17.37% to Rs 25.140 billion
The Commercial Bank Group has ended 2021 with gross income of Rs 163.675 billion, an improvement of 7.70%, with interest income accounting for more than 80% of the top line in a year of mixed fortunes.
The Group, comprising the Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC – Sri Lanka’s largest private sector bank – its subsidiaries and the associate, reported interest income of Rs 132.818 billion for the year ended 31st December 2021, reflecting a growth of 7.04%. With interest expenses for the year reducing by 9.31% to Rs 66.402 billion, the Group achieved net interest income of Rs 66.416 billion, an increase of 30.56%.
The final quarter of the year saw interest income growing by 17.84% to Rs 36.592 billion and accounting for more than 83% of the Group’s three-month gross income of Rs 43.625 billion, which was up 13.76% over the fourth quarter of 2020. This was despite interest expenses increasing by 4.30% to Rs 17.709 billion in the final quarter due to an increase in interest rates.
Total operating income for the year under review grew by 21.98% to Rs 93.598 billion, and the Group’s impairment charges and other losses increased by 17.37% to Rs 25.140 billion.
Net operating income for the full year improved by a healthy 23.77% to Rs 68.458 billion, but grew by a comparatively lower rate of 7.89% to Rs 17.504 billion due to the higher impairment charges provided in the fourth quarter, the Bank said. Total operating expenses increased by 12.93% to Rs 29.658 billion consequent to an increase in personnel expenses following the signing of a Collective Agreement effective January 2021, while general cost increases resulted in other operating expenses for the year growing by 18.01% to Rs 9.638 billion.
Operating profit before VAT on Financial Services grew by a noteworthy 33.58% to Rs 38.801 billion and the Group’s VAT on Financial Services for the year increased by 28.99% to Rs 5.845 billion, while profit before income tax for the year improved by 34.41% to Rs 32.957 billion. With income tax charges increasing at a relatively lower rate of 16.60% to Rs 8.667 billion due to the reduction in the income tax rate, the Group posted a profit after tax of Rs 24.290 billion for the year, achieving a growth of 42.16% before providing for the proposed Surcharge Tax, which had not been enacted in Parliament at the time of reporting. It has therefore not been provided for in the year reviewed.
Taken separately, Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC reported a profit before tax of Rs 32.001 billion for the year under review, achieving a robust growth of 36.11% and profit after tax of Rs 23.606 billion, recording an improvement of 44.17%.
Commenting on these results, Commercial Bank Chairman Justice K. Sripavan said: “The performance of the Group can be described as exceptional when the external challenges of the year are factored in. Our focus on the core mission and the needs of the hour resulted in emphasis being placed on enhancing customer experience, and we are proud of the ways in which our teams served with utmost dedication, putting our customers first as they have done for the past 101 years.”
Commercial Bank Managing Director and Group CEO S. Renganathan pointed out that the Bank was able to improve on its key performance ratios in 2021, to become even more financially stable and better-positioned to continue its mission as a systemically important bank. “In the face of uncertainty, we continued to build on our last year’s momentum and relief programs, emerging as the leading lender for COVID-19 relief among private sector banks in Sri Lanka,” he said. “We have continued to demonstrate remarkable operating resiliency throughout the pandemic through customer focus, digital engagement and operational excellence.”
Total assets of the Group grew by Rs 221 billion or 12.54% over the year to reach Rs 1.983 trillion as at 31st December 2021.
Gross loans and advances of the Group increased by Rs 133 billion or 13.83% to Rs 1.095 trillion, recording a monthly average growth of Rs 11 billion over the 12 months.
Total deposits of the Group recorded an improvement of Rs 186 billion or 14.46% in the 12 months reviewed at a monthly average of Rs 15.5 billion to reach Rs 1.473 trillion as at 31st December 2021.
A noteworthy achievement of the year under review was the continuing improvement of the Bank’s CASA ratio, an industry benchmark. For the year ended 31st December 2021, the Bank’s CASA ratio stood at 47.83% improving from 42.72% at the end of 2020.
Elaborating on some of the highlights of the income performance for the year under review, the Bank said that net fee and commission income of the Group improved by a steady 24.64% to Rs 12.242 billion, while net other operating income grew by 28.72% to Rs 10.002 billion, helped by exchange gains of Rs 1.4 billion. The Group posted a net gain of Rs 1.936 billion from trading and a net gain of Rs 3.002 billion from de-recognition of financial assets, the latter figure reflecting a decline due to a reduction in gains from the sale of Treasury Bonds and Sovereign Bonds.
In other key indicators, the Bank’s basic earnings per share improved by 33.49% from Rs 14.81 to Rs 19.77, while its net assets value per share increased to Rs 138.08 from Rs 134.67 as at end 2020.
The Bank’s Cost to Income Ratio before VAT on Financial Services improved to 31.61% at the end of the year under review from 33.95% at the end of 2020 and 38.51% at the end of 2019. The Cost to Income Ratio inclusive of VAT on Financial Services improved to 37.97% from 39.96% at end 2020 and 49.41% at the end of 2019.
The Bank’s Tier 1 Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) stood at 11.923% as at 31st December 2021, and its Total Capital Ratio stood at 15.650%, compared to the revised minimum requirements of 9% and 13% respectively imposed by the regulator consequent to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Bank’s gross non-performing loans (NPL) ratio improved to 4.62% from 5.11% at end 2020, while its net NPL ratio improved to 1.44% from 2.18% as at 31st December 2020.
The Bank’s interest margin improved to 3.51% from 3.17% for the year 2020. Similarly, the Return On Assets (before taxes) and Return On Equity too improved to 1.74% and 14.66% respectively for the year ended 31st December 2021 compared to 1.51% and 11.28% a year ago.
Sri Lanka should adopt a diversified water-security strategy, says chief engineer
By Sanath Nanayakkare
For generations, the Jaffna Peninsula has relied almost entirely on an underground freshwater lens. With no major perennial rivers to lean on, the region has long walked a tightrope between water scarcity, seasonal droughts, and a creeping groundwater salinity that has challenged communities across the North. Today, however, a monumental shift is underway along the windswept Vadamaradchi coast.
To understand how Sri Lanka is rewriting its water security playbook, one need only look to the Thalaiyadi Seawater Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) Plant.
V. Vijayakanth, Chief Engineer of the Jaffna Kilinochchi Water Supply and Sanitation Project (JKWSSP), recently explained the engineering marvels, environmental safeguards, and long-term vision driving this landmark infrastructure project.
“Building a multi-million-gallon desalination plant on an open, deep-sea coastline facing the Indian Ocean was no small feat,” he said.
Vijayakanth noted that the project required extensive marine, geotechnical, and ecological investigations before a single pipe was laid.
“The scale of the marine installation was striking: an intake and outfall system featuring roughly 1,300 metres of large-diameter pipeline, buried two metres beneath the seabed in water depths reaching up to 12 metres. Because ocean work is strictly dictated by nature, the team had to mobilise an excavator-mounted barge from India and execute a complex offshore operation within a very tight window before the onset of the monsoon.”
“One of the greatest historical hurdles of reverse osmosis technology has been its heavy appetite for electricity. To keep operational costs in check, the Thalaiyady plant integrates state-of-the-art isobaric pressure-exchanger energy recovery systems. These devices capture hydraulic energy from the high-pressure brine reject stream and transfer it directly back to the incoming seawater feed – recovering roughly 95% of available energy and slashing power requirements.”
“Environmental stewardship was equally central to the design. To prevent high-salinity discharge from harming the marine ecosystem, the plant utilizes an offshore outfall equipped with specialized diffusers positioned more than 500 metres from the shore. This ensures rapid mixing within a tightly monitored zone, safeguarding local marine life,” he said.
Karaveddi Water Supply Scheme
The impact of the plant is already tangible on the ground. Producing water that meets rigorous national quality standards (SLS 614:2013), the facility feeds into a vast transmission network linked to elevated service reservoirs. These tanks regulate hydraulic pressure across sprawling distribution routes, bringing relief to areas historically plagued by hard, brackish water.
V. Vijayakanth, Chief Engineer of Jaffna Kilinochchi Water Supply and Sanitation Project (JKWSSP)
Currently, about 1,600 households in the Karaveddi Zone are actively connected to the desalinated supply, with water flowing across a regional network stretching from Kodikamam and Jaffna City down to distant island communities like Delft, Kayts and Punguduthivu.
The peninsula’s total daily drinking water demand hovers around 50,000 cubic metres for a population of roughly 600,000. Operating at full capacity, the Thalaiyadi plant yields 24,000 cubic metres per day – meeting nearly half of the region’s current needs.
Yet, planners are already looking decades ahead. Driven by economic development, tourism, and proposed industrial zones like Kankesanthurai, projected potable water requirements for domestic, commercial, and industrial needs are expected to climb from 95,000 cubic metres per day in 2025 to 135,000 by 2045, and 175,000 by 2065. Meeting this future trajectory will require a diversified national strategy combining desalination with surface-water preservation and rainwater harvesting.
When asked whether Sri Lanka should lean exclusively on seawater conversion amid intensifying climate volatility, Vijayakanth emphasised the need for a balanced approach: “Sri Lanka should adopt a diversified water-security strategy, prioritising sustainable surface-water development, groundwater protection, rainwater harvesting, water conservation, treated wastewater reuse and catchment protection. Desalination can complement these sources as a valuable climate-resilient and drought-proof option where appropriate.”
Backed by financial and technical collaboration from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the project has given the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) invaluable expertise in advanced desalination management. Crucially, a two-year hands-on training program is ensuring that local technical staff master everything from membrane upkeep to preventive maintenance.
As climate variability accelerates, Thalaiyadi serves as a vital proof-of-concept. While energy-intensive desalination cannot replace conventional freshwater sources everywhere, Vijayakanth emphasises that it stands as an indispensable, drought-proof shield for Sri Lanka’s vulnerable dry zones – turning the ocean itself into a secure foundation for the nation’s future.
Sri Lankan fashion label Tropic Of Linen recently opened the doors to its second boutique, located at The Shoppes at City of Dreams.
For over a decade, linen has formed the core of the brand’s inspiration and business ethos. Its textures, movement, and natural irregularities carry through the striking interior of Tropic Of Linen’s newly opened second store. Large sculptural forms in wind-worn sandstone sit against softer curves, while a grand olive tree anchors the heart of the store, reaching up toward a skylight and giving life to the entire space.
Drawing on her background in fine art and design, co-founder Minha Akram envisioned a layered, sensory interior intended to draw people into the world of Tropic Of Linen and invite them to linger.
ANC Education held its 2026 graduation ceremony at BMICH, Colombo, celebrating graduates across multiple programmes. The cohort included 53 BBA graduates from Northwood University, 22 Psychological Sciences graduates from Northern Arizona University, 320 Pearson BTEC HND graduates, and 29 BTEC Level 7 graduates, alongside foundation, diploma, and transfer pathway students. Senior representatives from partner institutions attended.
Best Performer Awards recognised outstanding academic achievement. The event honoured years of hard work and support from families and educators. Since 2002, ANC has provided local and international pathways. Graduates now pursue careers, further studies, or international opportunities.
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Sun directly overhead Neriyakulam, Punewa, Kebithigollewa, Pankulam and Sinhapura at about 12.10 noon today (31)
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