Customer Capital

A customer-centric approach has enabled us to effectively engage with and understand the requirements of our clients and provide solutions to cater to these evolving needs. The Bank offers a gamut of lending and investment products to its island-wide network of customers. We offer a holistic value proposition to our customers comprising the following;

Customer Engagement

We maintain a high level of ongoing engagement with our customers which are facilitated through numerous channels including customer relationship officers, contact centres, operator services, telemarketing services and online platforms among others (Refer pages 29 and 30 for a full list of engagement mechanisms). The Bank’s Communication Policy provides guidance on how we interact with all our stakeholders, including customers.

Engagement through Social Media: Having identified the increasing connectivity among customers, we have sought to strengthen our online presence. The Bank maintains a very active Facebook page which currently has a follower base close to 450,000. The page provides important information on product promotions, campaigns, branch openings etc. This platform enables effective engagement with our millennial customers. In addition, we maintain a LinkedIn page which currently has a follower base exceeding 8,000. The Bank’s Linkedin page shares a host of information such as vacancies available in the Bank and other Corporate Publications and press releases.

The Bank also maintains an active NDB Twitter page which is used to communicate updates on Bank events, products, and insights from customer forums, notices and daily inspirational re-tweetable quotes. The NDB Corporate website is a one stop hub to collect information on Bank products, Branch network, investor details, NDB Careers etc. The Bank has now revamped the site with a whole new look making it easier for navigation. NDB YouTube channel consists of all videos published by NDB Bank . NDB Corporate announcements / media briefings, events and Commercials are updated to the YouTube channel.

Product Portfolio

The Bank offers a range of innovative and affordable solutions targeting the Retail, SME & Micro and corporate customers. A full list of products on offer under our key Business Units of Commercial Banking, Project & Infrastructure Financing, Retail, SME & Micro Financing, Islamic Banking and Treasury Department is found under the discussions of these respective Business Units on pages 53 to 70 under Management Discussion and Analysis.

Accessibility

In enhancing our customer proposition, we continue to drive customer accessibility, through both our branches and digital platforms. This has enabled us to effectively respond to customers’ growing need for convenience. The NDB Mobile Banking App has proved extremely popular as was discussed previously. The Bank introduced its user friendly mobile banking facility with the objective of bringing convenience and creating a trusted platform for customers to conduct their daily banking needs. With the NDB Mobile Banking App, customers can bank at their convenience and access their accounts/ cards to carry out various secured transactions from any mobile device running iOS, Android or Windows.

Accessibility is also enhanced via our other virtual & digital channels of online banking, branchless branding and dial banking for non smartphone users.

Our branch network remains as the strong physical point of connectivity fortified by a network of on and offsite ATMs.

Our off-site ATM network stood at a total of 14 ATMs spread among 10 districts across the country as depicted below.

The off-site network provides enhanced convenience to our clientele in those localities as well as all other customers.

Customer Service

The Bank has placed strategic emphasis on strengthening its customer service levels. Customers are provided numerous platforms to present their grievances including the contact centre, online channels, branches and feedback scores. Targets have been assigned to these centres to ensure that service levels are in line with the customers’ expectations. The Bank’s documented process for handling customer complaints is available on the Bank’s corporate website (www.ndbbank. com). The Customer Experience Team holds responsibility for managing all customer complaints across the Bank and reviews the overall service quality aspects in customer touch points.

The Bank’s complaints handling procedure is laid down in line with the Customer Charter set out by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL).

Focus areas for customer service in 2017 included,

• Developing staff competencies and capabilities

• Cross functional collaboration

• Combining digital platforms to serve our customers effectively

• Creating value by promoting value added services and cross sales

• Benchmarking service standards across the Banking industry

Contact Centre: The Bank operates a 24 x7 Customer Service Centre powered by a highly skilled team which is capable of handling all types of customer inquiries, card activation, and lost card deactivation. In addition to routine query handling, the Contact Centre also handles the Online Banking mail box and the contact@ndbbank.com. All queries received via this mail ID are actioned within 3 working days with end to end follow up until the customer query is fully resolved. Further, this will be expanded to Omni channel operations in 2018.

The Telemarketing Unit: focuses on revenue generation through cross selling and upselling. Customer feedback scores survey is also carried out by the telemarketing team on a monthly basis to measure the customer satisfaction level across the branch network.

The Transaction Monitoring Unit: is responsible for safeguarding card holders and account holders against any theft arising from electronic card misuse, account takeover etc. The team monitors transactions 24 x 7 to identify any unusual transaction patterns in order to ensure card holders are safe.

The Operator Services: handles direct calls received from the existing and potential customers between 8.30pm – 5pm. Customer calls seeking specific banking services are then routed to the respective personnel for further assistance.

Customer Experience

The team manages the Customer Feedback Centre and the Service Quality function of the Bank whilst actively sharing and giving recommendations to review Bank’s internal The team manages the Customer Feedback Centre and the Service Quality function of the Bank whilst actively sharing and giving recommendations to review Bank’s internal processes to enhance Customer Experience and to maintain consistent service standards across all key customer touch points. Key aspects of this function include,

Service Quality Management: reviewing the overall service quality aspects of key customer touch points and carrying out various quality surveys to measure the customer satisfaction levels. Feedback obtained from this engagement is a key input in product development and process improvements among others.

Customer Feedback Centre: Planning, executing and managing customer references and customer advocacy initiatives. This includes setting the strategic direction for the function as well as serving as the internal champion for customer advocacy within the Bank.

Product Responsibility

The Customer Charter has been formulated in line with the requirements of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and ensures that the terms and conditions applicable to our products and services are clearly understood by all customers. Relevant information such as interest rates on deposits, loans and exchange rates are clearly communicated to customers. During the year under review, there were no instances of non-compliance to any relevant product and service labelling or marketing communication guidelines.

Customer Privacy

We understand the obligation we have towards preserving the financial and personal information of our customers. This is facilitated by our robust information security frameworks and IT systems. The Bank has also embedded “customer privacy” as an integral part of the employee code of conduct to ensure the value of protecting customers privacy is reinforced at all levels. There were no substantiated complaints pertaining to the breach of customer privacy or loss of customer data in 2017.

Financial Literacy and Customer Education

Our customer value proposition is a holistic one, extending beyond mere financial support to encompass customer education. NDB’s ongoing financial literacy programmes are aimed towards strengthening financial discipline among our clients by providing guidance on investments, savings as well as basic training on accounting, book keeping and budgeting. Since our micro finance clientele primarily represent individuals who are new comers to the banking industry these programmes have been vital in improving financial management and discipline.

In 2017, we organized 12 large scale financial literacy programmes with the participation of over 1,200 individuals. We also conduct special programmes targeted at fostering female empowerment and during the year we conducted 4 such programmes in Colombo, Balangoda, Matale and Minuwangoda with a total participant base exceeding 400.

Industry Networks

As one of the country’s leading financial institutions with an extensive reach, we are cognizant of the role we can play in strengthening the entire industry through continuous engagement with peers and networks. Our employees are actively involved in numerous such forums and contribute their ideas and perceptions to the betterment of the overall industry.

Community Engagement

NDB’s CSR initiatives are aligned not only with the Bank’s values and objectives but also with national development objectives and the expectations and needs of our stakeholders. We therefore adopt a strategic approach towards CSR, which is also linked to our commercial objectives and are embedded in day-to-day business operations. It is with this understanding that the Bank’s approach to CSR is categorized under five main pillars of Education, Environment, Entrepreneurship & Financial Inclusion, Health and Employee Volunteerism.

CSR activities carried out under these priorities are formulated in a manner that complements the business operations. Therefore these CSR activities are carried out with the win-win objectives of adding value to the business which could be in the form of attracting clientele, enhancing brand image etc., as well as uplifting the community and bringing about social change. As such, these initiatives have helped nurture long-term and meaningful relationships with the communities we operate in. The Bank also carries out promotional activities wherever appropriate in order to educate the people on the financial solutions that are available to them which would help them make educated decisions.

The Bank works closely with partners who have the expertise and the skill in implementing the CSR projects. Projects are selected as per national need and based on existing statistics from which the severity of the need is ascertained. Monitoring is ongoing where the Bank has linked its branch network to follow up and monitor the projects as well as look into any other needs/concerns that may arise.

NDB has selected the above mentioned strategic areas, under which the CSR Initiatives are carried out with the following objectives:

• As a Bank promoting national economic growth, education is of primary importance as it facilitates increasing economic activity.

• Health is another key area because a healthy society is essential to achieve sustained economic growth and prosperity.

• The Environment is a focus area given the increasingly serious implications of climate change

• Employee volunteerism is to inculcate responsible behaviour to all our employees so that sustainability would be a way of life.

• It is under the Special Projects category that special community development projects and projects for disaster relief etc., are carried out.

It is under this agenda that the Bank initiates its community projects, monitors and continues them. We conduct primary research on community requirements as well as consult with potential partners. Thereafter based on the Bank's criteria, the need and available resources and partners, the projects are selected. NDB selects the right partner who has the required expertise in the area. Furthermore, impact assessments are also carried out as per the requirement.

Results of Strategic CSR Initiatives in 2017

Job Creation

We strive to recruit individual from the local communities as much as possible; while enhancing regional income this has also enabled the Bank to nurture stronger relationships with its customers. Developing specialized regional knowledge will enable the Bank to sharpen its competitive focus by providing tailor-made solutions. The percentage of senior management hired form local communities in our key regions are given below;