Rasitha Gunawardana, chief executive officer and general manager of People’s Bank, summarises the decade-long process of technologically upgrading the largest state-owned bank in Sri Lanka. He also talks about the risks and challenges encountered along the way how the institution’s evolution coincided with his own journey to the top of the career ladder.
February 21, 2019 | Emmanuel Daniel- Capital adequacy, profitability, service levels and employee motivation are the lead priorities under the current leadership of Gunawardana
- Early digitalisation of the bank’s processes and channels led the bank to further explore its modernisation journey
- The bank is looking at possibilities of collaborating with telcos, deemed as one of their biggest challengers
Rasitha Gunawardana rose from the ranks to become the chief executive officer and general manager of People’s Bank on 15 April 2019. He joined the bank when he was only 27, at a time when People’s Bank was focused on the rural sector. Through the years, he has gained first-hand experience of the inner workings of the government-run institution, specifically in the following areas: finance, performance management, corporate and commercial credit, treasury operations, credit control and risk management.
At present, Gunawardana has been with the People’s Bank for more than three decades and has witnessed and contributed its growth. However, he took on the CEO mantle at a time when Sri Lanka was experiencing economic and political setbacks. Despite encountering challenges right from the start of his leadership. Gunawardana is optimistic that the banking industry is likely to bounce back.
In this interview, he shares a brief history of his early years with People’s Bank, talks about their current undertakings, and reveals how digitalisation played an important role in the bank’s rise to prominence.
Emmanuel Daniel (ED): I'm very pleased to be able to be able to speak today with Mr. Rasitha Gunawardana, the current chief executive and general manager of People's Bank, the largest state-owned bank in Sri Lanka, and perhaps systemically the most important bank in Sri Lanka. Mr. Gunawardana has been a career official of the bank. Did you always work at People's Bank? How many years were you at the branch...
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