Traditional banks face challenges
To keep abreast with digital banking technology and to be on par with other international banks, the Bank of Ceylon (BOC) this week launched the INNOVBANK symposium at a ceremony held at the bank’s headquarters to commemorate its 80th anniversary. The INNOVBANK’s website was launched by BOC General Manager/ CEO Senerath Bandara in the presence of other invitees.
BOC CEO/ General Manager Senarath Bandara (centre) launching the “INNOVBANK” website. From left - BOC AGM BPRP Suresh Perera, Head of IT M.M.L. Perera, DGM Product and Banking Development M.J.P. Salgado, Central Bank Director-Payment and Settlements Dharmasiri Kumarathunge, Deputy Director University of Colombo School of Computing (Co-ordinating Co-chair- INNOVBANK) Dr. D.A.S. Atukorale, Faculty Member /Management Consultant Postgraduate Institute of Management - Co-ordinating Co-chair- INNOVBANK Dr. Samantha Rathnayake and Dean - Faculty of Computer Science Kotelawala Defence University Commodore J.U. Gunaseela. Pic by Priyamtha Wickramaarachchi.
Speaking at the event, Mr. Bandara said that INNOVBANK will be a significant project in BOC’s 2020 calendar that will impact not only on the bank but to the entire industry as a whole. “We engage with our 12 million customers through various Corporate Social Responsibility activities to improve social and economic values and environmental sustainability. We have awarded 2000 scholarships to those who entered universities and for students who pass the grade 5 scholarship examination.
We built the Jaffna Railway station after the war and set up an Ayurveda medical centre in Kurunegala for the disabled soldiers and built a children’s hospital.” He said INNOVBANK is a different type of Corporate Social Responsibility platform for those individuals who have innovative ideas in digital technology adding that “as bankers we always look at how to improve our systems, processes, products to serve our customers”.
Deputy Director of the University of Colombo Computing, Dr. D.A.S. Atukorale said that digital banks that have come up poses a real challenge to traditional banks that exist already. The new generations are now looking at IT-based solutions and banks that do not provide such services are bound to lose customers.
Therefore digital transformations are need for the banks to stay afloat. However digital transformation can also take over the jobs of certain employees in banks by computers and IT systems. At the same time a lot of opportunities can come up with digital banking. Meanwhile the existing staff at banks will have to learn new technologies to be employed further. The banking sector in future will be mainly focused on technology-based solutions, digitalised processes, innovative products and services along with artificial intelligence support by data analysis.
BOC’s Head of Information Technology (IT) Lakshman Perera said the idea of hosting a symposium was to take the banking industry to a higher level of technological sophistication to meet the future generation of bankers. Disruption of digital technology that happens often leads to new technological innovations that benefit the financial industry as a whole and emergence of new products. BOC Assistant General Manager (AGM) Suresh Perera and Dr. Samantha Ratnayake of the Post Graduate Institute of Management, University of Sri Jayewardenepura also spoke.