Seylan Bank PLC (Sinhala ：සෙලාන් බැංකුව， Selan Bænkuwa) is a publicly owned commercial bank in Sri Lanka. It has branches in both urban and rural areas of Sri Lanka. In 2020, Seylan Bank had 170 banking centres across the island, 3,173 employees (as of August 1, 2024), an ATM network of 182 units, covering key locations, and 365-day banking services from 11 branches. The bank is a licensed commercial bank with a shareholder base.

History

Seylan Bank was established on August 28, 1987 as a public limited liability company with Dr. Lalith Kotelawala as its founder chairperson. It established its first subsidiary, Seylan Merchant Bank Limited, in 1992. In 1992, a second subsidiary, Ceylinco Seylan Development Limited, was established, mainly for the construction of the bank's headquarters building, Ceylinco Seylan Towers.

Seylan Bank launched Sri Lanka's first homegrown credit card and they also entered into a cooperation agreement with Western Union, a global money transfer system.

Crisis

In 2008, the collapse of Golden Key Credit Card Company, a subsidiary of Ceylinco Consolidated, and the mismanagement of funds by the previous chairperson led to a liquidity crisis in the final weeks of 2008. This prompted the Monetary Committee of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to place Seylan Bank under the control of the state-owned Bank of Ceylon (BOC) on December 28, 2008. This was done under Section 30 of the Currency Act No. 58 of 1949.

The troubles of Ceylinco Bank began when Golden Key Credit Card Company, an unregulated company under the Ceylinco Group, was unable to repay its customers due to financial instability.

Bounce Back

In 2008, Bank of Ceylon appointed an 11-member team at the request of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka after the bank collapsed and due to the unethical practices and activities of Gold Key Credit Card Company, which was affiliated with Bank of Ceylon.

The team managed to rebuild the financial stability of the bank and introduced effective risk management policies. The board developed a comprehensive strategic business plan, trained staff and reduced operating expenses.

The bank earned a tax profit of Rs 188 million at the end of 2009. The bank was able to repay $300 million from previous non-performing loans.

Seylan Bank is once again one of the leading banks in Sri Lanka after reaching a solution to the Golden Key scam and continues to serve people.

In May 2010, the bank's profits increased by 32.3% compared to the previous year