The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has been ranked the ‘Strongest Bank Brand’ in Sri Lanka for the third consecutive year in the 2022 report on the country’s most valuable and strongest brands by Brand Finance, the world’s leading independent brand valuation consultancy.

The Commercial Bank brand also moved up the value ranking to be the third most valuable brand in Sri Lanka across all sectors covered by the latest edition of the ‘Brand Finance Sri Lanka 100’ released in April 2022.

Brand Finance assigned the Commercial Bank brand a value of Rs 46.7 billion, an increase of Rs 3 billion or 7% over its valuation for 2021, recognising that the value of the Commercial Bank brand grew at a faster pace than the overall brand value of the banking sector, which was up by 3%.

In terms of brand strength, Brand Finance gave Commercial Bank a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 86.7 and a AAA brand rating, the highest rating assigned to the top brands this year. In its summary of the results, Brand Finance noted that the stronger the brand, the higher the potential value it can generate in the future.

Referring to Commercial Bank, the consultancy commented that the bank’s attempt to differentiate its product offering through a digitally-driven banking environment such as the Q+ Payment App, (which was the first QR code based payment app under LANKAQR) coupled with other digital transformation strategies, and its strong network of branches are a big contributor to its strength.

Among the other digital and social media banking services offered by Commercial Bank are ComBank Digital, ComBank ePassbook, the Flash Digital Bank Account, ComBank eSlips, ComBank RemitPlus, ComBank WhatsApp Banking and Bank with ComBank on Viber.

“The banking sector continues to play a pivotal role in maintaining a healthy financial system in the country,” Brand Finance said.”This year sees a growth in value for banking brands despite the turbulent economy as they continue to make efforts in meeting the fast-growing consumer demands and efficient cost management systems. Overall brand value of the sector grew by 3%, accounting for 44% of the Sri Lanka 100 total brand value.”

Commercial Bank Managing Director/Group CEO Mr S. Renganathan said: “These are extremely challenging time for businesses, and brands that can grow in these circumstances are those that visibly live up to their promise in tangible and customer-responsive ways. This has always been a strength at Commercial Bank. We believe that every employee must live our brand values.”

According to Commercial Bank’s Group Chief Marketing Officer Mr Hasrath Munasinghe, the Bank continued its strategic brand building activities despite the tough external conditions during the pandemic. “The bank’s strategic marketing efforts are not just about making the brand heard or seen, but mainly about building, engaging, and maintaining relationships with our key stakeholders through delivering consistent value to them,” he said in an interview with Brand Finance. “The bank has defined brand strategy as a central part of its corporate strategy. Brand values have been aligned to synergize with the corporate values. The key to the success of the bank has been finding the elements to differentiate the bank and its products and services from the rest.”

Brand Finance computes the value of brands listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and private companies that wish to be featured,using a method based on the Royalty Relief approach – a brand valuation method used by the company globally. Every year it puts 5,000 of the world’s biggest brands to the test and ranks brands across all sectors and countries and publishes nearly 100 reports.

Brand Finance experts helped craft the internationally recognised standards on Brand Valuation – ISO 10668 and Brand Evaluation – ISO 20671. The consultancy’s methodology has been certified by global independent auditors – Austrian Standards – as compliant with both, and received the official approval of the Marketing Accountability Standards Board.

One of the most active and vibrant brands in Sri Lanka, Commercial Bank’s brand building efforts maintain a healthy balance between corporate and product communications and ground level customer engagement events. In addition to traditional media, the Bank is highly active in social and digital media and customer engagement events, at national and regional level. The Bank’s strong customer base covers all segments of society, and encompasses all socio economic groups spread across Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka’s first 100% carbon neutral bank, the first Sri Lankan bank to be listed among the Top 1000 Banks of the World and the only Sri Lankan bank to be so listed for 11 years consecutively, Commercial Bank operates a network of 268 branches and 938 automated machines in Sri Lanka. Commercial Bank is the largest lender to Sri Lanka’s SME sector and is a leader in digital innovation in the country’s Banking sector. The Bank’s overseas operations encompass Bangladesh, where the Bank operates 19 outlets; Myanmar, where it has a Microfinance company in Nay Pyi Taw; and the Maldives, where the Bank has a fully-fledged Tier I Bank with a majority stake.