The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has once again been ranked among the world’s Top 1000 Banks by the UK’s authoritative financial sector publication The Banker, becoming the only Sri Lankan bank to achieve this milestone on 13 occasions.
The first Sri Lankan bank to make the Top 1000 in 2011, Commercial Bank has been placed 931st in the 2025 edition of this prestigious global ranking, reaffirming its position as the highest ranked private sector bank in Sri Lanka on this definitive list of the world's strongest banking institutions.
Commenting on this achievement, Commercial Bank Managing Director/CEO Sanath Manatunge said:
“To be ranked among the Top 1000 banks in the world 13 times is a reflection of our unbroken commitment to financial strength, governance, and resilience through some of the most difficult periods in our country’s history.
Despite the challenging global and local operating environment, we have remained focused on sound fundamentals and strategic priorities.”
Compiled from a database of over 5,000 of the world’s largest banks, The Banker’s Top 1000 World Banks ranking is based on Tier I capital – the key indicator of a bank’s financial strength – and is regarded as the industry standard for measuring performance and stability.
Notably, the top four banks in the 2025 Top 1000 World Bank are from China: Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Banking Corporation, Agricultural Bank of China, and Bank of China.
The first American bank on the list, JP Morgan Chase & Co. comes in at fifth place.
Explaining this year’s rankings, The Banker noted that fragmentation defines the global banking scene.
US banks surged on strong earnings, while European and Chinese peers lagged due to weak growth and structural challenges.
China’s property crisis and stalled European consolidation hit returns, while Indian and Japanese banks gained, driven by domestic resilience and shifting geopolitics.
The Banker evaluates banks using more than 120 performance metrics and scores them across eight key areas : Growth, Operational efficiency, Return on risk, Soundness, Profitability, Asset quality, Liquidity and Leverage.
These scores determine the final rankings and identify the best-performing banks in each region and globally.
Commercial Bank has the highest market capitalisation in the Banking Sector in the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE).
The Bank is the largest private sector lender, the largest lender to the SME sector, is a leader in digital innovation and is Sri Lanka’s first 100% carbon-neutral bank.
Commercial Bank operates a strategically located network of branches and automated machines island-wide, and has the widest international footprint among Sri Lankan banks, with 20 outlets in Bangladesh, a fully-fledged Tier I Bank with a majority stake in the Maldives, and a Microfinance company in Myanmar.
The Bank recently opened a representative office within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), taking a significant step towards broadening its global footprint.
The Bank’s fully-owned subsidiary CBC Finance Ltd., also delivers a range of financial services via its own branch network.