Societal Responsibility
A school in Wadduwa - One of the many to receive IT equipment from the Bank
Donation of Medical Equipment to the Lady Ridgeway Children’s Hospital
Donation to construct a museum at Kirivehera, Kataragama: H.E. the President unveils the commemorative plaque
IT Education
This initiative originally began with the endowment of an IT training centre at Gothamigama Junior College, Kataragama, the centrepiece of local celebrations connected with the opening of the Bank’s two-hundredth cash point, which was installed at Kataragama in 2011. The centre proved to be a great success. Inspired by this, Bank staff proposed to undertake a campaign of bringing IT education facilities to schoolchildren across the country. The initiative was approved and is being supported by the Bank’s CSR Trust.To date, a total of 22 IT labs and six other IT projects have been funded and implemented entirely by the Bank; while a further 13 projects are ongoing. Schools and other beneficiaries selected for assistance under this initiative are mostly rural. The decision which school to support is based on the grade to which education is offered by the school, the number of pupils and the availability of teachers to handle the subject of IT. A school for visually- and hearing-impaired children in Ratmalana, the HBE Children’s Home in Jaffna and the SOS Children’s Village in Jaffna have also received equipment and assistance under the scheme.
Undergraduate Scholarships and Other Funding for Education
During the year 73 undergraduates received scholarships worth Rs. 2,500 a month for ten academic months every year under Sarasawiyata Nawa Saviyak, a CSR programme supported by the CSR Trust. By the end of the year, a total of 41 scholarship holders had graduated from their respective universities, while another 32 students were continuing their studies.This was the fourth concurrent programme year. In its first year, the programme disbursed one hundred scholarships, and announced it would award 25 every year thereafter. To date, the programme has given away 175 scholarships. Recipients are identified with the assistance of the University Grants Commission.
In addition, the Bank has undertaken to help meet the monthly expenses of three Sri Lankan students at universities overseas, based on a request made by The Ceylon Banks Employees’ Union. The Bank reimburses up to 30% of these students’ expenses.
The Bank also has a rewards scheme for deserving younger students. Holders of Arunalu minors’ accounts who excel at the Year 5 scholarship examination every year are awarded cash prizes.
Health Care
Two major projects in this area were carried out in the year under review.In April the Bank contributed Rs. 1.2 Mn. from the CSR Trust Fund to the Batticaloa Teaching Hospital, a key medical facility in the Eastern Province.
The Trust also donated medical equipment worth nearly Rs 1.5 Mn. to the Lady Ridgeway Children’s Hospital, Colombo under a community programme to enhance medical facilities at hospitals.
Other Projects
The Trust recently pledged six million rupees to construct a museum within the precincts of the Kirivehera, the main Buddhist shrine in the pilgrimage city of Kataragama, for the benefit of the devotees who visit this sacred site. A commemorative plaque to mark the event was unveiled by His Excellency the President Mahinda Rajapaksa in November 2011. The proposed 2,160 sq.ft. building will house the museum as well as a bookshop. Exhibits will include ancient artefacts found in excavations on temple lands over the years.Corruption
Business Units Analysed for Risk Related Corruption
The Bank’s Integrated Risk Management Department has in place procedures to mitigate any form of corruption arising from financial fraud. Procedures and incidents are monitored as part of the Operational Risk Assessment. Incident reports submitted by the respective business units are reviewed and proper follow up actions are taken to avoid recurrence of similar incidents.Training on Anti-corruption Policies and Procedures
The Bank’s Anti-money Laundering Department conducts regular training programmes to educate the Bank’s staff on the requirements of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The Bank conducted 8 such programmes and trained 396 staff members attached to various business units during 2011, covering 9.15% of the total staff strength of the Bank.| Programme/Session Title | No. of Programmes | No. of Participants | Person Hours |
| Junior Executive Assistant Orientation - Know Your Customer |
5 | 272 | 544 |
| Banking Trainee 18-Month
Refresher Training - Anti-Money Laundering |
3 | 124 | 217 |
| Total | 8 | 396 | 761 |
Actions Taken in Response to Incidents of Corruption
During the year 2011, there were two incidents of corruption which were detected and brought to the notice of the Executive Integrated Risk Management Committee of the Bank via its monthly meetings by the Integrated Risk Management Department. In the event that the financial loss caused due to a fraud exceeds a pre determined threshold, details of such frauds are tabled at the quarterly meetings of the Board Integrated Risk Management Committee.Lapses in the internal control system of the Bank which led to these two incidents were identified and steps were taken to avoid a recurrence. This was followed by an issue of circulars to all staff to educate them and to improve the effectiveness of existing internal control mechanism. In addition, disciplinary actions were initiated against the staff involved in the aforesaid incidents.