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Business Partner Capital

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Multilateral and bilateral institutions

Over the years, DFCC Bank has successfully fostered and maintained partnerships with various institutions worldwide. These relationships have had a significant impact on strengthening the Bank’s role as an effective credit institution for on-lending funds to end-users, acting as the project manager in implementing credit programmes, administering grant funds, and enabling market development and capacity building. The institutions with which the Bank has strong relationships include:

  • Asian Development Bank (ADB)
  • BlueOrchard Microfinance Fund – Luxembourg
  • Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft
  • Commerzbank Finance and Covered Bond S.A.
  • Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG), a subsidiary of KfW – Germany
  • European Investment Bank (EIB)
  • Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KfW) – Germany
  • Nederlandse Financierings – Maatschappijvoor Ontwikkelingslanden N.V. (FMO) – The Netherlands
  • Proparco, a subsidiary of Agence Française de Développement (AFD) – France
  • RAKBANK, also known as the National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah – United Arab Emirates
  • The World Bank
  • U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC)

The Bank has retained its role among the top 10 participating financial institutions selected by the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to on-lend ADB’s funds to the SME sector and rooftop solar power generation projects. The partnership is aligned with the Bank’s mission to accelerate the growth of the country’s flourishing SME sector, while contributing to the country’s renewable energy generation efforts. Both these issues lie at the core of the Bank’s ideological and strategic foundation.

The Resource Mobilisation and Capital Markets Unit continues to build and maintain the existing relationships of the Bank by actively engaging with partner institutions and expanding the Bank’s reach to other territories and organisations. This plays a pivotal role in the Bank’s endeavour to secure potentially economical funding lines to support its growth and expansion into new sectors.

Correspondent Banks

DFCC Bank maintains strong relationships with over 250 global correspondent banks, comprising some of the world’s largest financial institutions.

The following entities act as the Bank’s nostro agents in their respective countries:

Bank Currency Country
Bank of Ceylon (UK) Limited GBP UK
Bank of Ceylon ACU $ India
Bank of Ceylon ACU $ Maldives
Bank of China CNY Sri Lanka
Commerzbank AG CAD Germany
Commerzbank AG EUR Germany
HDFC Bank ACU $ India
HSBC Bank USA N.A. USD USA
JPMorgan Chase Bank USD USA
JPMorgan Chase Bank AUD Australia
Kookmin Bank USD South Korea
Mashreq Bank PSC ACU $ India
Mashreq Bank PSC AED UAE
Mashreq Bank PSC USD USA
Standard Chartered Bank (Pakistan) Limited ACU $ Pakistan
Standard Chartered Bank ACU $ Bangladesh
Standard Chartered Bank ACU $ India
Standard Chartered Bank AUD Singapore
Standard Chartered Bank EUR Germany
Standard Chartered Bank GBP UK
Standard Chartered Bank SGD Singapore
Standard Chartered Bank USD USA
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation JPY Japan
Uni Credit Bank AG EUR Germany
ZurcherKantonal Bank CHF Switzerland

Supply Chain Management and Procurement Policy

The Bank maintains a fair, transparent and rigorous procurement policy which clearly defines the methods and procedures to be followed in the procurement of goods and services by authorised employees. The policy also lays down clear conditions and guidelines for the selection of suppliers, as well as the acquisition of goods and services to be carried out in an impartial, non-discriminatory and economically sound manner.

The Procurement Committee (PC), under the leadership of an Executive Vice-President, acts as a control mechanism of the procurement function of the Bank. Large-value IT-related procurements are submitted to an IT Steering Committee (ITSC), while other general procurements are either subject to approval by the PC or higher approving authorities. Large-value and/or specialised procurements may be subject to review by independent parties, if deemed necessary.

Suppliers of goods and services are required to register themselves, and obtain the approval of the PC. They are subject to review once in every two years. Suppliers have to undergo a rigorous evaluation process to determine quality, delivery time, pricing, after sales support, technical proficiency and references. As a policy, Bank prefers to source its requirements from local suppliers, as part of its commitment to supporting local communities and businesses. Registered suppliers have the option to receive financial advice and assistance from the Bank.

Partners for Service Delivery

DFCC Bank partners with a variety of reputable vendors for a range of services, including:

  • Agency banking
  • Cash handling and management
  • Cash collection, counting, storage, delivery, and transport of security goods
  • Document archival
  • Printing services including printing of account and credit card statements, cheque books, etc.
  • Processing of payroll and other reimbursements
  • Payroll audit function
  • Deployment and maintenance of machinery related to bank operations
  • IT/core bank systems support and maintenance
  • Personalisation and delivery of chip-based credit cards
  • IT support
  • Help desk problem management
  • Management of the corporate website
  • Maintenance of digital platforms for banking, customer experience, and utility payments
  • Innovation management process
  • Assessment and consultancy on information security
  • Business intelligence
  • Deployment and maintenance of cash deposit/withdrawal/ cheque deposit machines and reconciliation of transactions
  • Recovery related tasks
  • Selected Legal tasks and processing of security documents
  • Back office tasks of centralised units

Strategic Alliances

DFCC Bank has been diversified into several entities under the DFCC Group, which provides a range of services through the following subsidiaries:

  • DFCC Consulting (Pvt) Limited
  • Lanka Industrial Estates Limited
  • Synapsys Limited
  • Acuity Partners (Pvt) Limited (Joint venture)
  • National Asset Management Limited (Associate company)

DFCC Consulting (Pvt) Limited

Established in 2004, DFCC Consulting (Pvt) Limited is a fully-owned subsidiary that engages in project consultancy, advisory services and related fields. Through a shared resources model, DFCC Consulting draws upon a resource pool of nearly 600 executive staff from DFCC Bank, and a pool of reputed external experts from various fields. DFCC Consulting through its multifaceted knowledge and expertise, carries out business with external parties in the fields of environment, engineering, renewable energy, and other fields that extend to international consultancy assignments, including partnerships with overseas consulting firms.

Lanka Industrial Estates Limited

Lanka Industrial Estates Ltd., referred to as LINDEL, was incorporated in 1992 as a subsidiary company of DFCC Bank PLC to set up, operate and manage industrial estates in Sri Lanka. Setting up the LINDEL Industrial Estate at Sapugaskanda by upgrading and making use of the remaining infrastructure facilities of the defunct State Fertilizer Manufacturing Corporation was the pioneering project undertaken by the Company. LINDEL takes pride in providing superior infrastructure and allied services to all its clients and pursuing continuous improvements to the services on offer to its clientele. LINDEL is expected to complete the expansion of its rooftop solar power generation capacity up to 1.5 MW in February 2022. Further, LINDEL is currently in the process of listing itself on the Colombo Stock Exchange via an IPO.

Synapsys Limited

SYNAPSYS is a dynamic and innovative technology company with a 15-year track record of products and services supporting Banks, Capital Markets, Insurance and Retail Payments across Asia-Pacific and the UK. The success of this fully-owned subsidiary of DFCC Bank stems from the commitment of its Software Engineers, Banking Consultants, Payment Solution Experts, IT Operations and Business Process Outsourcing teams. Leveraging deep domain expertise especially in the Micro, SME and Agri-finance sector, SYNAPSYS forges trusted partnerships to build and operate Cloud-ready FinTech platforms. Stability, security and service quality are some of the hallmarks of value that SYNAPSYS provides to its clients and partners.

National Asset Management Limited

National Asset Management Limited (NAMAL), an associate company of DFCC Bank is the pioneer unit trust management company in Sri Lanka, established in 1991. With over 30 years of experience in investing in equity and fixed income markets, NAMAL has the distinction of having launched the first unit trust to be licensed in Sri Lanka (National Equity Fund), and the first listed closed end unit trust (NAMAL Acuity Value Fund). NAMAL operates five unit trusts and offers private portfolio management services to a broad range of clientele. NAMAL’s main shareholders comprise Union Bank of Colombo PLC, DFCC Bank PLC and Ennid Capital (Pvt) Limited. The management team consists of highly experienced and qualified professionals with widespread exposure to domestic and international capital markets.

Acuity Partners (Pvt) Limited

Acuity Partners is a full-service investment firm promoted as an equally owned joint venture between DFCC Bank and HNB. It is the only integrated, full-service investment firm in Sri Lanka offering a comprehensive suite of products and services in Fixed Income Securities, Stock Brokering, Corporate Finance, Margin Trading, Asset Management and Venture Capital Financing (via its Subsidiary, Lanka Ventures PLC). Acuity is the successor to the investment-related subsidiaries and divisions of DFCC Bank and HNB and was created through the consolidation of all Corporate Finance, Equities and Fixed Income Securities activities of the two banks under a common umbrella.

Memberships in Industry Associations

DFCC Bank has acquired membership and established alliances with various industry associations and organisations that enable networking opportunities and contribution to industry standards. The Associations include:

  • American Chamber of Commerce in Sri Lanka
  • Association of Compliance Officers of Banks Sri Lanka
  • Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asiaand the Pacific
  • Association of Professional Bankers Sri Lanka
  • Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Central Province
  • Chamber of Construction Industry Sri Lanka
  • Colombo Stock Exchange
  • European Organisation for Sustainable Development GMBH
  • Genesiis Software (Pvt) Limited
  • International Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka
  • Lanka Fruit & Vegetable Producers, Processors and Exporters Association
  • LNRS Data Services Ltd.
  • Payment Card Industry Association of Sri Lanka
  • Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka
  • Sri Lanka Forex Association
  • The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce
  • The Ceylon National Chamber of Industries
  • The Employers’ Federation of Ceylon
  • The European Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka
  • The Financial Ombudsman Sri Lanka (Guarantee) Limited
  • The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka
  • The Mercantile Service Provident Society
  • The National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka
  • The Sri Lanka Banks’ Association (Guarantee) Limited
  • The Sri Lanka Institute of Directors
  • Wayamba Chamber of Commerce and Industry