Senior banker K. B. Rajapakse appointed APB President

Senior banking professional, K. B. Rajapakse of the People’s Bank, was unanimously appointed President of the Association of Professional Bankers (APB) for 2021/2022 at its 32nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) held recently.

Established in 1988, the APB has been the most representative organization of banking professionals in the country and has functioned as a forum that brings together leading personalities in business administration and intellectual discussion in the contemporary banking scene.

The AGM of the Association was held on March 25 at Bougainvillea Ballroom, Galadari Hotel on a hybrid basis, where a large number of APB members attended the meeting physically in keeping with recommended health and social distancing guidelines, while another group of members attended the meeting virtually.

Addressing the gathering after his appointment, Rajapakse said that APB would be in a strong position to contribute to the banking fraternity and to achieve the national development goals of the country.

He emphasized on the need for each member to take up the challenge to think out of box and be creative thinkers in order to make necessary changes, which will be vital not only to survive, but to succeed as well.

“All of us are professional bankers shouldering responsibility in our respective offices, committed to make profits, improve the bottom line and further develop our banking institutions. As a professional body, you and I know that banking comes with strict regulations. So the real challenge is to achieve our objectives which include retaining sufficient flexibility to satisfy our customers within the regulatory boundaries under the ‘new normalcy’ with new systems, new products, new management styles and digitalization”, he stressed.

Rajapakse has 33 years plus experience at People’s Bank, of which over 12 years was in corporate and executive management. He is at present the Senior Deputy General Manager of Payment and Digitalization.

He is a Fellow member of the Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka and an Attorney. He holds a Diploma from the Institute of Credit Management of Sri Lanka.

The following were elected APB office bearers and council members for 2021/22 and also to the Fund Management Committee:

President: K. B. Rajapakse, Senior Vice President: Jeremy De Zilva, Vice Presidents: Halin Hettigoda & B. A. H. S. Preena, Treasurer: Indika Kudagamage, Secretary-General: Anton Arumugam, Assistant Secretary: Mahesha Amarasuriya.

Nominated council members: K. Raveendran, M. R. N. Rohana Kumara, Theekshana Pandithasekara, Hasrath Munasinghe, Anjali Gunathilake, Christine Jesudian, Vijitha Kumarasiri, Asitha Pinnaduwa and Isuru Jayaweera.

Fund Management Committee members: Hennanayake Bandara, Aravinda Perera, Sunil De Silva & Ms. Shashi Kandambi Jassim.