HNB
Q: What factors make Hatton National Bank (HNB) a good corporate citizen, in your opinion?
A: HNB’s tagline ‘Partner in Progress’ captures the very essence of how we have truly integrated with Sri Lankan society in our existence of over 130 years.
We are a bank for the masses. Our retail banking proposition caters to all walks of society from infants to pensioners, while our SME and wholesale banking proposition serves businesses of all sizes – from microfinance and SMEs, to multinationals locally and overseas.
Our reach and presence over the years has been a catalyst to support people and businesses in realising their financial goals, and make a difference to the lives of others.
We have evolved over the years, driving positive lifestyle changes for our customers. Our Pathum Vimana savings products played a major role in inculcating saving habits – particularly among rural communities.
Meanwhile, the Gami Pubuduwa scheme – our microfinance lending proposition – has been crucial in building entrepreneurship and financial inclusion among rural communities over the last 30 years.
In the last decade, we have invested heavily in building a digital banking proposition, reinventing the bank from the inside out to cater to customers’ evolving digital lifestyles.
There are exciting times ahead where banking will literally be at customers’ fingertips, from opening an account and transferring money to applying for cards or personal loans – all with a few clicks on a mobile device.
Q: How has the bank looked to care for employees and customers during the pandemic?
A: HNB played a major role in ensuring the wellbeing of its staff and customers during the pandemic. The bank took the necessary steps to enable employees to work remotely to accommodate a safe and secure working environment.
Every measure was taken to host regular meetings and discussions to generate a collaborative environment without hampering productivity and growth. Contact centres, digital products, ATMs and cash deposit machines (CDMs) were vital in ensuring reach and contactability to enable uninterrupted banking services during these tumultuous times.
Q: Could you elaborate on HNB’s noteworthy sustainability efforts?
A: HNB has noted the severity of climate change in the modern context. It takes pride in being the only bank to transition over 100 of its 250 branches to solar energy, thereby relieving the pressure on the national grid.
We have several landmark Platinum certified green buildings – notably the head office, and Nittambuwa and Jaffna branches – that serve as inspiration to our more than 250 buildings located around the country.
HNB also plays a significant role in forest conservation efforts, notably in Thundola and Kanneliya.
Q: What does corporate sustainability mean for an organisation?
A: It begins with the philosophy of adding value to people’s lives and enabling them to become financially independent.
Quite often, organisations associate corporate sustainability with charity or handouts. For HNB, it’s much more than that, ultimately being about supporting financial independence by providing seed capital, advice and know-how to launch businesses.
There is an old saying: ‘Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.’ This captures the essence of our philosophy, which has supported over 100,000 entrepreneurs through our Gami Pubuduwa scheme and our fully owned subsidiary HNB Finance where over 500,000 rural women have been given the confidence to commence their own cottage industries.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought about disruptions in supply chains. Identifying this, HNB rose to the occasion and acted to set up links between buyers and sellers. The bank’s digital channels are geared to enable farmers in rural areas to connect with households in Colombo and sell their organic produce without the need of middlemen who often get the lion’s share of margins.
Q: Does HNB have a mechanism that enables it to identify environmental risks and impacts?
A: HNB drives this initiative with the same relentless focus of other key performance indicators (KPIs). We track our carbon footprint monthly, and a comprehensive dashboard tracks energy, paper, e-waste and other measures, with accountabilities and targets.
We make an effort to incorporate this into our ecosystem where energy efficiency, a paperless office, productivity improvements and a culture of getting things right the first time, are built into our operational processes and disciplines.
Q: How is corporate governance incorporated into HNB’s operational processes – and how has the bank been recognised for this?
A: It is incorporated in the very essence of our strategy and the tone from the top. At HNB, we believe that fostering the right culture is essential to building effective corporate governance.
The recognition of our best practices in risk management, board composition, talent development, transparency in reporting, sustainable performance, and rewards and remuneration contribute to the numerous awards we have earned in this sphere over the years.
These awards are a major source of encouragement to the Hatton team to continue to strive to transform the lives of our customers and staff, and society at large.
Dilshan Rodrigo
Executive Director
Chief Operating Officer
Telephone 2462462 | Email hnbconnect@hnb.lk | Website www.hnb.net
