Benchmarking Digital Excellence: How Commercial Bank of Ceylon Can Grow by Adopting Lessons from DBS Bank Singapore

By -

 Benchmarking Digital Excellence: How Commercial Bank of Ceylon Can Grow by Adopting Lessons from DBS Bank Singapore


1.  Introduction 

The Sri Lankan banking industry is recovering after the 2022–2023 crisis. The 2024 Banking Amendment Act by the Central Bank forces domestic banks to manage risk, improve client servicing, and follow new regulations. It is good to take lessons from Asian rivals who are used to competing with the world. This blog contrasts Singapore's DBS Bank Ltd., the best digital banking company in the Asia-Pacific region, with Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC (ComBank), the largest private sector bank in Sri Lanka. It then offers practical recommendations that ComBank can adopt in the short term, within prevailing regulations and market limitations.

2.  Company Profiles 

  The largest private bank in Sri Lanka is Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC (ComBank), which was set up in 1969.  It possessed assets of Rs 2.88 trillion (circa US$9 billion) as of 2024 and reported a profit of Rs 54 billion, a 164% increase from the last year.  It provides services including remittances, trade financing, and retail banking. ComBank Digital, e-Passbook, WhatsApp banking, and the Q+ wallet—transactions of which increased by 64% in 2024—are a few of its digital offerings. It is overseen by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka according to the new 2024 Banking Act.

The initial digital banking institution to be available in Asia is Singapore's DBS Bank Ltd., which was established in 1968.  With assets of S$776 billion (the equivalent of US$580 billion) and a profit of S$11.4 billion in 2024, it offers cutting-edge digital products and universal banking through the "digibank" app.  With more than 1,000 APIs, DBS enables open banking and is governed by stringent digital and payments regulations implemented by the Central Bank of Singapore.

3. Three Major Similarities 

  • Full service focus: Both enjoy extensive branch/ATM networks and cater to retail, SME, and corporate clients.  
  • Digital push: all banks invest in AI chatbots, mobile apps, and QR payments. 
  • Strong capital levels: These provide for high liquidity and meet Basel III buffers, which are necessary after recent shocks.


4.  Major Differences 

In innovation and digital strategy, DBS and ComBank are worlds apart.  DBS has all consolidated into one, seamless super app, while ComBank employs standalone apps for chat, wallets, and banking.  While DBS has an established API ecosystem with over 1,000 live integrations, ComBank is simply experimenting in the CBSL sandbox for open banking.

Tech resiliency is also a differentiating area.  While DBS was compelled by regulators to revamp its tech oversight and improve system reliability following digital outages, ComBank's technologies are locally hosted with fewer public disruptions.

For products, DBS provides innovative products like robo-advice, Sustainability loans, and digital wealth platforms, while ComBank deals in traditional banking products like loans and trade finance.  ComBank has started to provide greener loans, while DBS is already in the lead when it comes to sustainability and has received international awards for its ESG abilities.


Sri Lanka’s Commercial Banking Environment: A Contextual Analysis

The banking landscape Commercial Bank of Ceylon (ComBank) is a part of is changing relentlessly. Although it is a leader in the private banking industry in Sri Lanka, the bank's capacity to adopt innovations at the same speed as those at DBS Bank of Singapore is limited by several structural and regulatory factors.

How every bank handles off-balance-sheet (OBS) risks is one important distinction. ComBank and other banks still coping with a large number of trade-related guarantees and undrawn loans in Sri Lanka must have solid internal controls and capital buffers. As with DBS, moving into open banking or digital lending necessitates still more advanced risk management and tracking systems. Even a technically advanced service would bring about unexpected costs without this.

Stricter capital, liquidity, and tech-risk conditions have been introduced on the regulatory side by recent reforms like the Central Bank of Sri Lanka Act and the 2024 Banking Amendment Act. The reforms are welcome but also require ComBank to tread carefully in developing digital capabilities like an API platform or super-app. ComBank continues to adjust to more elevated current regional compliance standards and regulations, in contrast to DBS, which operates based on MAS's highly advanced digital standards.

Liquidity management are also a part of transformation. ComBank has been doing well with Basel III tools like LCR and NSFR, but it has been able to strengthen its liquid asset base, especially as it gets stronger in segments like wallet-based banking and QR payments. These create new transaction flows that require cash flow proving in real time.

The path to DBS-type innovation needs to be aligned with Sri Lanka's capital and regulatory landscape, but ComBank has the ambition and first digital foundations. The bank can continue but slowly and incrementally.

5.  Recommendations for Commercial Bank of Ceylon 

  • 1. Build a single “super-app” layer

    • Bring together chat banking, Q+ wallet, and ComBank Digital into a single, easy-to-use app. 
    • Leverage APIs for small applications (bill pay, ticketing). To fuel each day usage, start with low-value lifestyle services such as meal delivery promotions and top-ups. 
    • CBSL allows digital wallets; the 2024 Act only calls for increased cyber controls; no new license is needed.

  • 2. Establish an open marketplace for APIs 

    • Provide core APIs (KYC, payments, and FX rates) to fintechs to connect to. 
    • Provide developer documentation and sandbox testing from the learnings of DBS's 1,000 API portal. Before its recent launch, pilot with CBSL's fintech sandbox. 
    • Benefits include increased customer choice, fee revenue from partners, and shorter time to market.

  • 3. Increase governance and technology resilience

    • Form a Technology Risk Committee at the board level (DBS formed one after MAS evaluation). 
    • Conduct "chaos engineering" experiments every month to evaluate failures.  
    • For transparency, publish outage dashboards. 
    • This is in line with the new risk management requisites of CBSL (Section 76 of Amendment Act 2024).

  • 4. Execute sustainable deposits and loans with ESG tie.

    • Provide exclusive discounts for green projects (SME energy retrofits, solar constructions). Add basic carbon-tracking features in the app when offering these loans in a bundle. 
    • Persistent demand and decreased defaulting are proof of success of DBS in ESG lending. 
    • ComBank has the possibility to undertake funding lines with local ADBs or DFIs.

  • 5. Train employees in data and artificial intelligence 

    • DBS trained over 7,000 employees using an internal "AI guild"; ComBank can do the same with nearby organizations. 
    • For data analysis, model risk, and fundamental machine learning for credit rating, focus on Python. 
    • To motivate people to accept digital transformation, connect learning to career incentives.

6. Conclusion

Commercial Bank of Ceylon is already a leader in digital banking in Sri Lanka, but yesterday's success is not sufficient due to new regulations and a sharp shift in consumer behavior. DBS shows the way for a local bank to take a leadership in sustainability, scale digital services, and manage IT risk—all while recognizing and overcoming real challenges. ComBank can approach DBS level excellence in a way suitable to Sri Lankan regulation and market size by consolidating its digital channels, opening APIs, strengthening its IT backbone, adding ESG products, and reskilling its people. Small, tangible steps taken in 2025-26 will build a platform for higher revenue and deeper consumer confidence in the years ahead.






 References





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Welcome to Our Blog - A Journey into Sri Lanka's Financial Markets and Institutes

By -
Image
  Hello everyone!  We warmly welcome you to our finance blog website," The Finance Ledger ",where we dive into the heart of Sri Lanka's financial system. Before we begin our journey into the Financial markets and institutes in Sri Lanka, we would like to introduce ourselves. We are a group of undergraduates with a shared interest in financial markets and institutions,especially in Sri Lanka. The aim of our website is to breakdown current finance news and trends for individuals to better understand.Further,we will be integrating our own financial insights into the blogs,making them more understandable for the reader.We will be covering from financial markets such as equity and debt markets, along with financial instruments like share,bonds and bills.  This is only the beginning and stay tune for our financial journey!    "Exploring finance, one week at a time" Members of Group 04  
Read more

Importance of Financial Institutions and Markets : Bringing Back Investor Confidence

By -
Image
Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) Reached Its Peak  Image from https://www.cse.lk As we all know, Sri Lanka is still recovering from its recent financial crisis. Earlier this week, there were some positive developments in the financial markets, especially in the stock market. On June 30th, the All Share Price Index (ASPI) of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) reached a stunning figure of 18,026.72 points, as reported by Sirasa Newsfirst. The total turnover for the day was around Rs. 6.3 billion. According to the official CSE website, the ASPI reached its highest point of 18,148.34 on July 4th. This indicates that investors have regained confidence in companies, expecting high returns from them. ASPI chart from   https://www.cse.lk For those who are new to finance, you might ask: Why are financial markets important, and how can they uplift the economy? Don't worry,in this blog, I will be covering the importance of financial markets and institutions What Are Financial Markets?  B...
Read more