Hatton National Bank (HNB) demonstrated resilience and posted Rs 13.7 billion in Group Profit After Tax during 2020, a year laden with unprecedented circumstances and challenges. Bank level Profit After Taxes amounted to Rs 11.5 billion.

Commenting on the performance, Chairman of HNB Dinesh Weerakkody stated that “2020 has been a year unlike any other in recent memory as the COVID-19 Pandemic transformed the socioeconomic landscape dramatically but we proved our ability to adjust rapidly as we leveraged technology and adapted to the new normal, sharing the responsibility to stay safe as well as keep our communities safe and empowered.

Jonathan Alles, Managing Director/CEO of the Bank stated: “in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, we reprioritized our focus to ensure that we navigate the uncertainties and risks effectively to safeguard the interests of all our stakeholders.”

“During the first phase we provided debt moratoria to customers covering approximately 40% of our loan book.”

Mr. Alles, commenting on the performance, stated that “in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, we reprioritised our focus to ensure that we navigate the uncertainties and risks effectively to safeguard the interests of all our stakeholders. We also extended working capital finance of over Rs 24 Bn to affected sectors at concessionary interest rates under the CBSL relief scheme and set up a Rs 5Bn fund through our own funds to support SMEs.”

The accommodative monetary policy adopted by the CBSL to drive economic growth saw AWPLR dropping sharply by over 400bps during the year.

Ceylon Daily News