In a series of events to mark the International Women’s Day, Union Bank hosted several networking events for the Bank’s customers including inspiring sessions on business success as well as wellness.

A captivating discussion with Mrs. Sandra Wanduragala, Founder Seyln Textiles, provided invaluable knowledge on navigating the path to business success and empowering women entrepreneurs to reach greater heights. Union Bank branches in Zone 3, welcomed women entrepreneurs to an engaging event in Matara with Ms. Deshani Gamage, Founder and Managing Director, of Apex Business Academy to an inspiring session on women in business.

The Northern Zonal Office, conducted an event in Jaffna with empowering sessions for its women customers with esteemed personalities Ms. Vythehi Narendran, representative of the UNDP, alongside Ms. Mithila Thillainadesan, Lecturer at the Department of Financial Management, University of Jaffna. The sessions also featured insights from Ms. Jasmin Jayamalar, Director of Nature Wings (Pvt) Ltd, and Ms. Uthayani Navaratnam, District Women Development Coordinator at the District Secretariat. These sessions aimed at providing knowledgeable guidance to the women customers in fostering their growth and prosperity.

The Bank also welcomed its Elite Circle members to a therapeutic Art Spa with artist Dila Weerasinghe providing a tranquil space for creativity and relaxation, allowing members to unwind and express themselves through art. Union Bank’s unwavering commitment to women empowerment extends beyond financial solutions to awareness and support, facilitating growth and social well-being.

Picture Caption: Mrs. Sandra Wanduragala, Founder of Selyn Textiles, shares insights on women’s empowerment

Union Bank held its annual Christmas Carols Service recently at the St. Andrews Scots Kirk Church participated by staff and their families. The colourful event brought together the UB community to an enjoyable evening of fellowship with a beautiful rendition of carols sung in English, Sinhala and Tamil by staff across the branch network and head office supported by an equally talented team of the bank’s very own musicians , a nativity play narrated by the much talented children of staff and a visit by Mr & Mrs Clause bringing the seasonal cheer and happiness of gifting to the children . The event was organised by the Union Bank Sport Club.

Picture Caption: Union Bank Choir

Shop and save big this Christmas season with Union Bank Credit cards and choose from over 200 merchants ranging from shopping, dining, leisure, essentials, household, electronics and more.

With an array of exciting discounts with up to 50% off on popular local and international brands coupled with 0% interest extended payment plans, UB credit cards provides cardholders a sensational shopping and holiday experience for the season.

Synonymous as a lifestyle credit card, UB credit cards seasonal offers provide a range of exciting shopping offers to gear up for the season in style and to gift your loved ones. Adding cheer to the households this season, UB credit cards’ supermarket offers provides attractive savings at all leading supermarkets with some even offering easy payment plans for Christmas hampers. A wide range of discounts from a selection of exquisite hotels and resorts provides cardholders and their families the ideal holiday getaways with up to 50% savings and extended payments plans for convenience. Providing greater convenience to avoid the seasonal rush, UB credit cards also offers a range of ecommerce discounts from the most popular online sites for cardholders to shop at the convenience of their homes.

Staying true to the concept of swipe and save, Union Bank Credit Cards offers greater financial flexibility with easy payments, such as 0% instalment plans. UB credit cards instalment plans include a range of categories from Education, Insurance, Auto-care, Healthcare Electronics, Travel, Hotels, Banquets and Solar with up to 24 months instalments with a nominal processing fee.

More information on Union Bank Credit Cards’ Seasonal offers could be obtained simply by dialing 011 5 800 800 or by visiting www.unionb.com.

Union Bank completed a successful campaign for Bancassurance recently under the theme “Banca Heroes’ with branches achieving milestone results in Annualised New Business Premiums (ANBP). All zones contributed to this achievement whilst Zone 2 became the top runner with the highest ANBP.

During the promotion 36 branches surpassed the set targets and achieved over 100% with the Warakapola branch achieving an outstanding ANBP of 1370% whilst the Head office, Pelawatte, Pettah, Gampaha, Narammala, Kuliyapitya, Kandy, Peradeniya, Kurunagalle, Vauvinya and Matara, branches also performed exceptionally well.

The teams were applauded for their outstanding performances and the initiative created a winning momentum for the branch network.

Picture Caption: Banca Heroes-The Warakapola Branch staff selfie

Celebrating the significance of Poson Poya, Union Bank recently held its Poson Bathi Gee Saraniya sung by Union Bank team members from branches and the Head Office. The event was held at the Bank’s Head Office premises with the attendance of staff and their families. The Union Bank BathiGee is a long-standing event on the Bank’s calendar and was hosted by the Union Bank Sports Club.

Picture Caption: The Union Bank Bathi Ghee team members with Director/Chief Executive Officer Indrajit Wickramasinghe.

A lantern’s light shines bright, and this year for Vesak the staff of Union Bank participated in the lantern competition which took place last Thursday (4). The staff across all functions and branches sent in the most creative lanterns in keeping with the theme of using recycled material.

This Vesak festival the environment-friendly lantern competition was the highlight, several showcased their talents and displayed the most creative lanterns designed using eco-friendly or recycled materials. The initiative received excellent participation from branches and departments, eyeing to win the best lantern creation. Whilst promoting comradeship and engagement amongst the UB Team the competition also supports the Bank’s continued efforts to protect the environment.

The teams used various recycled products for the lantern-making. Amongst several uniquely crafted entries, the Warakapola branch emerged as the winners with Internal Audit Department and the Kandy branch receiving 2nd and 3rd place.

Union Bank hosted its annual Avurudu celebrations on Saturday (28) at Ape Gama, Battaramulla. The event was a celebration to welcome the Sinhala and Tamil New Year in April. The staff from the head office and branches attended the event and participated in the games and traditions of this auspicious festival of the year.

The celebrations were full of fun and excitement and the event was vibrant with staff dressed in colourful and traditional attire. The pageantry for the Union Bank Avurudu Kumara and Avurudu Kumariya was a key highlight with many showing their talents to win the likeness of the judges. The captivating personalities and performances made it hard for the judge’s panel. However, with much cheer and joy, Dulshan Indeewara from the Borella branch and Dhaneshini Udari from Card Operations were crowned the Union Bank Avurudu Kumara and Kumariya for 2023.

No rain could shun the glitz and glamour or stop the staff from engaging in the competitive range of Avurudu games. All who joined enjoyed a plethora of traditional food along with a scrumptious dinner buffet, music and dancing. The event was organised by the Union Bank Sports Club.

Picture Caption: Winners of the Union Bank Avurudu Kumara and Kumariya, Dulshan Indeewara and Dhaneshini Udari

Union Bank proudly announced the launch of its first ever Toastmasters Club at a recently held event at the Bank’s head office with the installation of 18 Toastmasters including 7 Executive committee members as the inaugural office bearers for the year. Establishing the Toastmasters Club is part of the Bank’s Talent Development strategy focusing on enhancing communication and leadership skills of employees for career growth. The new committee members for the year 2023/24 are Dasun Siriwardana (President), Kaminda Kumarasinghe (VP Education), Kisho Prasath (VP Membership), Shehan Peries (VP Public Relations), Nirupama Bandara (Secretary), Anuradha Jayasuriya (Treasurer), Shane Miranda (Sergeant at Arms).

The Union Bank Toastmasters Club was inaugurated by Mr. Indrajit Wickramasinghe, Director / CEO of Union Bank, in the presence of management and staff of Union Bank and other invitees. Representing the Toastmasters fraternity, the District Director of District 82, Area E4 – Toastmaster Nisal Weerakoon attended the event along with other members of the club. Addressing the Installation ceremony, Mr. Indrajit Wickramasinghe, Director / CEO of Union Bank stated that, “To face the many challenges that evolve today, it’s imperative that we harness and develop additional skills and capabilities in the UB team, as such the Union Bank Toastmasters Club will aptly support staff to build confidence and leadership whilst gearing them to rise up to challenges, they are faced with”.

Toastmasters is a non-profit global movement which helps to improve public speaking & leadership skills in its members and is head quartered in Englewood Colorado, USA which was established in 1924 and it has over 14,700 clubs in 144 countries.

Photo Caption:
Union Bank Toastmasters with Indrajit Wickramasinghe, Director/CEO of Union Bank and management team members.

Photo Caption: Seen in the picture from L to R:
Nilmini Weerasekera (Corporate Banking), Dhanushka Sethuhewa (Risk Management), Minoli Fernando (Finance), Charitha De Silva (Legal), Ramiduni Wellalage (Attidiya Branch), Osadhi Gunasekara (Internal Audit), Vindya Gunasekera (Moratuwa Branch), Shanmugeswaran Jesdharajan (Kotahena Branch)

Union Bank’s long service awards acknowledges the long-standing dedication and commitment of employees that have been a part of the Bank’s growth and evolution over the years. This year, eight staff members were presented with valuable mementos and awards of recognition by Mr. Indrajit Wickramasinghe, Director/CEO for their long-standing commitment and dedication to the Bank, at a special ceremony held at the Union Bank Head Office recently.

Nilmini Weerasekera (Corporate Banking), Osadhi Gunasekara (Internal Audit) and Shanmugeswaran Jesdharajan (Kotahena Branch) completed 25 years, whilst Minoli Fernando (Finance), Charitha De Silva (Legal), Dhanushka Sethuhewa (Risk Management), Vindya Gunasekera (Moratuwa Branch) and Ramiduni Sarangika (Attidiya Branch) completed 20 years of service at Union Bank.

Commenting on the awards, Vice President Human Resources, Lilanthi Delgoda stated, “Union Bank’s long service awards are a part of the Bank’s staff engagement initiatives that aim to appreciate the longstanding service, dedication and efforts of its staff members and provides a positive workplace experience and encouragement to further excel in their endeavours”.

Human Resource Management remains a core strategic priority of the Bank where it strives to build rewarding careers and be a caring organisation for its employees. From effective performance management systems and attractive rewards schemes to progressive career development alongside learning and development opportunities, the Bank provides its employees with the impetus to reach their full potential. Being a performance driven organisation, Union Bank is consistently focused on developing its employees to reach their optimum levels of performance.

Union Bank’s long service awards acknowledge the long-standing dedication and commitment of the employees that have been a part of the Bank’s growth and evolution over the years.

The Bank completed its milestone 25^th year of operations during the year 2020 and in sequence to this celebrated its long serving employees at a special ceremony held recently with the patronage of its leadership;  where they were presented with valuable mementoes and awards of recognition.

Renuka Senevirathne was recognised for her 25 years of unstinted commitment to the Bank while Bimal De Zoysa and Wasantha De Silva were honoured for their 20 years of service at Union Bank at this ceremony.

Union Bank’s long service awards is part of its staff engagement initiatives that aim to appreciate the efforts of its staff members and provide a positive workplace experience.

Commenting on the awards, Vice President Human Resources, Ravi Jayasekera said, “Union Bank’s Long Service Awards were introduced in 2015 to coincide with the Bank’ 20^th anniversary and has continued to appreciate and recognize the commitment of the Bank’s long-standing employees. This year’s awards were also significant as the Bank celebrated its 25^th anniversary in 2020 and as such we were fortunate to celebrate an employee who had been a part of the Bank’s growth journey from its inception.”

“Our long service recognition is a staff engagement initiative that values the lasting commitment of employees who have contributed to the Bank’s evolution over the years. As a part of our people-first strategy, we strive to maintain an engaging work environment despite the limitations brought about by the pandemic in terms of physical collaboration and engagement. As part of these focused initiatives, at the beginning of 2021 the Bank introduced an all-new online engagement and collaboration portal to enhance interactions between employees irrespective of their geographic location” he further added.

Human Resource Management remains a core strategic priority of the Bank where it strives to build rewarding careers and be a caring organisation for its employees. From effective performance management systems and attractive rewards schemes to progressive career development alongside learning and development opportunities, the Bank provides its employees with the impetus to reach their full potential. Laying its empathetic people approach to action during the Covid–19 outbreak in the year 2020, the Bank took a solid stance to embrace a humane approach to work amidst challenging conditions while encouraging its people to act with  empathy and care in this time of crisis. During this unprecedented period of challenges, the health and well-being, financial stability and job security of the Bank employees were swiftly assured and prioritized to provide a sense of relief and composure to the employees. When operating in the new normal with a renewed strategy for growth, the Bank continues its focus on fostering a healthy work culture that brings the best out of its people and helps deliver remarkable outcomes.

bout Union Bank

Established in 1995 as the 8th indigenous Bank, today Union Bank is amongst the highest capitalized private commercial Banks in Sri Lanka, offering a full range of products and services to personal and commercial financial sectors. Supported by the strength of a global giant, Union Bank has etched for itself a solid foundation of financial stability backed with international know-how and best practices and is rapidly progressing as one of Sri Lanka’s fastest growing financial institutions. Embedded within this success of Union Bank are the tireless efforts and dedication of employees that have remained a part of the Bank throughout this progress.

Photo Caption:  Seen in the picture from L to R : S. Sri Ganendran –  VP Operations, awardees Bimal De Soyza & Renuka Seneviratne, Indrajit Wickramasinghe –  Director/CEO Union Bank and Ravi Jayasekera – VP HR

Spreading the word of joy during the Christmas season, Union Bank held a Carols program at the St. Andrew’s Scots Kirk Church in Colombo recently. The Carols were presented by the Union Bank staff members and the event was attended by staff and their families. The fun filled event concluded with a visit from Santa Clause and the distribution of gifts to children. 

Union Bank recently hosted ‘UB Accelerate’ a career guidance and job fair targeting school leavers and young job-seekers.

The event held at the Nawarangahala of Royal College was a huge success and attracted over 1000 youths from across the island. Through UB Accelerate, the Bank aimed to create awareness on the career opportunities and potential that exists in the Banking sector for young job seekers, with the aim to help them accelerate their entry in to a successful career. Aiding this cause, following the career guidance seminar, interviews were conducted on the same day which gave the attendees an opportunity to join the Bank as Trainee Banking Assistants.

Union Bank remains committed to mentor Sri Lankan youth into becoming skillful young professionals through these initiatives. From effective performance management systems and attractive rewards schemes to progressive career development and training opportunities, Union Bank provides its employees with the impetus to perform at their optimum and reap rewards.
More information on Union Bank and its products and services are available on the Bank’s corporate website
 www.unionb.com.

Union Bank will host ‘UB Accelerate’ with a view of providing career advice and opportunities to school leavers.

Often at the current times, Sri Lankan youth find themselves at crossroads attempting to figure out the ideal career option. Most school leavers are overwhelmed by the multiple diversities presented to them in terms of career and higher education. Union Bank in furtherance of its commitment to empower youth of the country, has initiated ‘UB Accelerate’ in a bid to provide suitable career advice to school leavers while providing job opportunities to start a career in banking.

Commenting on ‘UB Accelerate’, Vice President – Human Resources at Union Bank, Mr. Ravi Jayasekera said “We often note that school leavers are not aware of career opportunities that exist in the Banking field or how they can build a successful career in Banking. Through UB Accelerate, we want to fill this void by sharing the career opportunities and potential that exists in Banking. Our aim is to genuinely help them accelerate their entry in to a successful career. In order to do this, we will conduct interviews on the same day at the event which will give the attendees an opportunity to join our growing team as Trainee Banking Assistants. The theme “UB Accelerate” reflects both the rapid pace at which the Bank is growing as well as our stated commitment to support our staff to develop to their full potential. This programme is an affirmation of our commitment to mentor Sri Lankan youth into becoming skillful young professionals. ”

From effective performance management systems and attractive rewards schemes to progressive career development and training opportunities, Union Bank provides its employees with the impetus to perform at their optimum and reap rewards.

The event scheduled to be held on Saturday, 12^th January from 9am onwards at the ‘Nawarangahala’ – Royal College will offer participants the opportunity to embark on a career at one of the fastest growing banks in the country. The participants who wish to face interviews are advised to bring an updated CV and the National Identity Card.

More information on Union Bank and its products and services are available on the Bank’s corporate website www.unionb.com.

Union Bank’s long service awards recognizes the long standing dedication and commitment of employees that have been a part of the Bank’s progress for over 20 years. Once again the Bank honoured the services of ten employees at an event held recently at the Waters Edge.

Awards of recognition and rewards were presented to them by Mr. Indrajit Wickramasinghe Director / CEO of Union Bank for their unstinted support towards the Bank’s progress for over two decades.

Commenting on the awards, Vice President Human Resources, Ravi Jayasekera said, “The dedication of our employees is the key to the Bank’s success. This year we are very pleased to recognise ten such employees who complete 20 years of service with the Bank. As an organisation we are privileged and proud to have such long serving dedicated employees.”

In celebration of Vesak, Union Bank held Bodu Bathi Gee Saraniya 2018 at the Bank’s head office premises recently. Director and Chief Executive Officer of Union Bank- Mr. Indrajit Wickramasinghe was present at the event along with the corporate and senior management of the Bank, staff and their family members.

Union Bank’s Bodu Bathi Gee Saraniya 2018 programme was directed by the renowned musician Nalin Alwis. The Bakthi Geetha team of Union Bank comprised of Kishani Samarawickrama, Rumesh Vinoth, Roshana Samapath, Anne Roshini Perera, Sachintha Dhanushka Kumara, Nuwan Chathuranga, Vajira Fernando, Pawan Atulugama, Sarala Cooray, Shalini Wijewardene, Kalani Sandamali, Geethani Ranaweera, Yohan Lewke, Umesha Hendehewa, Harshika Jayawardana, Shalini Perera, Hashangi Senevirathne, Thilini Haegoda, Yadeesha Yuranthi, Dineshi Fonseka, Stefani Fernando, Praveen Perera and Sachini Madushika. Ridma Abeysinghe and Nuwan Thilakawardene were comperes at the event.