Digital ambition meets banking reality: CEOs map transformation path

CEOs of Bank of Ceylon, Amana Bank, Seylan Bank, Pan Asia Banking Corporation and Union Bank share insights into digital transformation strategies, opportunities and challenges

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SRI Lanka's banking sector is entering a more demanding phase of transition, as institutions built on trust, regulation and extensive physical networks confront rising digital expectations, tighter supervisory scrutiny and growing cyber risk. At the Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka's inaugural National Banking and Finance Conference themed "Digital Transformation and Financial Stability" last week, chief executives from a cross-section of State-owned, private, Islamic and mid-tier banks offered a grounded assessment of how they are pursuing digital transformation while preserving financial stability.

The CEO Forum, the conference highlight, followed broader discussions on technology, talent and regulation, but shifted the focus decisively towards execution. Bank of Ceylon Acting General Manager/CEO Y.A. Jayathilaka, Amana Bank Managing Director/CEO Mohamed Azmeer, Seylan Bank Director/CEO Ramesh Jayasekara, Pan Asia Banking Corporation Director/CEO Naleen Edirisinghe and Union Bank of Colombo Executive Director/CEO Dilshan Rodrigo spoke less about aspiration and more about constraints: cost, culture, governance and the limits imposed by legacy systems.

Rather than portraying digitalisation as an endpoint, the discussion reflected a shared view that transformation is continuous, capital-intensive and inseparable from leadership and organisational discipline.

A journey, not an event

For Bank of Ceylon, digitalisation has unfolded as a long-running structural shift rather than a discrete technology upgrade. Jayathilaka framed the process as one that reshapes systems, procedures and customer experience over time.

"Digital transformation is, by its name itself, a transformation journey. When it's a journey, we can't do it overnight," he said, pointing to the cumulative nature of change over the past decade.