HNB Moves To Make The Thrift A Viable Economic Activity

Having built a heritage of trust with its customers over the years HNB has become the first choice of many with regards to savings and investments. In addition to providing attractive savings and investment options, HNB offers numerous other services which range from micro finance facilities, pawning services and development banking etc. It has always been the bank’s aim to contribute towards improving the GDP percentage in the country. One of the best ways that one can go about this is to improve people’s accessibility to financial services and getting the entire population interested in savings. The drastic drop in interest rates has also compelled people to invest in unauthorized financial institutions offering unusually high interest rates, which have ultimately led to the recent disappointments experienced in the banking and finance industry.
“Access to financial services has always been an area of concern for many, due to the fact that many banking and other financial services have been restricted to the Western Province. Therefore the accessibility with regards to banking and financial service has been marginal throughout the rest of the country’s provinces.
The best solution for this is for banking and financial institutions to branch out using modern technology to better reach out to the populations living in the rural and remote areas. This will enable a better channel for people’s money to come into the banking system. In this perspective HNB has pioneered many programmes to inculcate the savings habit among the masses. The bank offers a wide range of savings products that caters to all segments of the society, from an infant to that of a senior citizen”, says. Mr. Chandula, Abeywickrema, Deputy General Manager, Marketing and Retail Banking
The bank’s savings products cater to an individual right from his or her birth, initially by teaching parents to save for their child as soon as their child is born, through the Kiriketiyo savings scheme. After their child’s fifth birthday the Kiriketiyo children’s account will be upgraded to a Singithi Lama savings account, which teaches the child to save on their own through a very attractive gift scheme and a competitive interest rate. Through the HNB Teen Account, HNB offers attractive value additions for teenagers. With regards to encouraging the younger generation to save HNB has also established school saving units around the country, which include mini banks in every school which are operated by the children themselves under the supervision of the bank’s branches located in that area. These initiatives as such as this create avenues for children to be introduced to the banking system in addition to nurturing their savings habits. At present around 156 school banking units are in operation around the country, where over 1000 children are trained annually to become student bank managers of their school banking units. HNB also offers a unique savings product for the Senior Citizen, which offers them benefits at their retirement.
HNB to commemorate the World Thrift Day will run a series of promotional campaigns from 1st to 10th November where both new and existing customers would be rewarded with special prizes for deposits made during the period.
Yet another revolutionary savings scheme is the Pathum Vimana scheme , which is an incentive scheme developed to encourage people to save. This year Pathum Vimana offers the largest value in prizes, where no other bank has so far been able to match this massive prize structure.
In conclusion Mr. Abeywickrema said, “What is of paramount importance is the fact that we as a bank have taken the initiative for people to gain an access to our banking products, which reaches out to all areas of the country far exceeding the Western Province. HNB is a bank that has stood the test of time, therefore we have opened the doors to trustworthy banking solutions, where you can be rest assured that your money will always be in safe hands when you invest with us, therefore customers will have the opportunity to establish a long-lasting relationship with us that will continue for many generations to come.”