What it does: Lending to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and providing financial services to various sectors.
Best known for: being Sri Lanka’s first bank to specialise in commercial loans and investment (merchant banking).
Staff stats: Over 1,000 employees in 48 branches.
The good bits: Strong focus on employee development as well as a performance-oriented rewards system.
The not so good bits: Sustainability issues and competition in the retail lending market constantly looms over the entire industry.
Hiring grads with top marks in: Commerce, Accounting, Business Studies, Business Statistics, Information Technology, and Economics.
Before its establishment in 1982, the Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka (MBSL) was initially part of the Bank of Ceylon as a specialised management consultancy division. During that time, they served Sri Lanka's private sector as they ventured into businesses.
After a decade in their operations, the need for better leasing, retail credit, and short-time credit services rose in the market they helped build. So MBSL entered into retail activities, expanding their financial expertise.
They made their name in the country by re-developing previously defunct financial institutions and putting on a good performance in the retail market, particularly in the leasing category.
In 2015, three of MBSL's subsidiaries including the Merchant Credit of Sri Lanka, MBSL Savings Bank (formerly Ceylinco Savings Bank), and Ceylease merged with MBSL. Today, MBSL is the fastest-growing financial services provider in Sri Lanka. Their core focus is lending and deposit-taking, as well as the provision of investment and advisory solutions.
Today, MBSL's main focus is lending to the SME and agricultural sectors of Sri Lanka.
The Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka and Finance has an award-winning human resource management team. In 2016, they were recognized as one of the Best Employer Brands in Sri Lanka. The year after that, they were given Asia's Best Employer Brand Award by the World Human Resource Development Congress.
As an employer, MBSL sees to it that they make a continuous effort to enrich their workforce through talent management projects, competency development programs, and change interventions. New employees even go through career development processes to make sure they know how their careers will grow in MBSL.
Applicants who are interested to work in MBSL are advised to send an email within 10 days of a job post's advertisement. On the subject line of this email, applicants should indicate the position they wish to apply for. Candidates should attach their detailed CV along with the names of two referees who are not related to the applicant. Only short-listed candidates will be called in for an interview.
A career in MBSL can be the beginning of a fruitful life with an award-winning employer. Newly-hired employees in the company go through career development processes to see whether the individual sees a viable future with MBSL.
In 2017, MBSL had an employee retention rate of 89%. They put thousands of hours into training to make sure every employee is at its most productive state.
Employees in MBSL are even encouraged by management to go through cordial negotiations to put employee benefits forward, increase salary rates, and cooperate in supporting the future growth, not only of MBSL but of the employees as individuals as well.
Every employee hired in MBSL is said to receive remuneration on par with industry standards. Marketing Officers in MBSL, for example, can earn as much as LKR923,599 per year (AUD7,560.96 as of November 2019). MBSL is also offering graduates a Pawning Officer position that can enable the employee to earn as much as LKR543.35 (AUD4.45per hour), according to a 2019 report.
The corporate culture in MBSL is very encouraging of self-development and productivity. Employees go through regular training and assessments to make sure every division maintains its consistent delivery of service quality. Should the need for internal restructuring arise, MBSL has a very systematised approach to make sure the employee does what they do best.
Known for its staff training, MBSL has an award-winning employee development program. They were Asia's Best Employer Brand in 2017. They also received the Best Service Provider in HR award in 2018, among many others.
MBSL prides itself for being a non-discriminatory workplace. There's an equal opportunity for everyone to progress in their careers. Excellent employees are rewarded according to the quality of their performance. It's a place for young go-getters who are willing to get better as they climb the corporate ladder.