Jonathan Alles optimistic about the prospects for a bounce back in 2021

Sees vaccine as ‘a ray of hope’

by Sanath Nanayakkare

2020 has been a difficult year for many sectors of the economy, but I’m confident that Sri Lanka could bounce back faster if we work together as one nation. Jonathan Alles – Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Hatton National Bank (HNB) told The Island Financial review yesterday.

“The pandemic has emphasised the need to innovate, and seize opportunities arising in the market to remain sustainable. Sri Lanka needs to promote entrepreneurship and local production and as a systemically important bank, HNB as always is committed to partnering the progress of our nation by supporting the SME and micro finance sectors”, he said.

HNB MD/CEO further said:

“It is time the government, political leadership and corporate citizens all worked together to enable the successful empowerment of the underprivileged people of our country. We must give them a chance by providing them access to learn multiple skills and providing them with financial support to start their own ventures”.

“The year ahead to a large extent will be shaped on how fast Sri Lanka could get the vaccine for COVID-19 and how effective the vaccine would be against the variants of the virus”.

Referring to financial institutions’ support to affected businesses due to the pandemic, he said, “The banking sector which stepped into support the affected customers could be impacted by higher nonperforming assets (NPAs) and impairments on loan moratoriums, hence it is vital that customers are encouraged to repay so that the banking sector would remain strong and stable to support the ailing industries and the economy. Further, it is important for the banking sector to strengthen its systems and controls and take necessary steps to enhance cybersecurity as customers shift to more digital transactions”.