1961 - 1970

• 1961
• People's Bank was inaugurated on 1st July 1961. The first branch was opened at Duke Street, Colombo. During the year, 8 more branches were opened at Polonnaruwa, Hingurakgoda, Hambantota, Anuradhapura, Puttalam, Matale and Kandy as well as the Foreign Branch in Colombo. The total number of employees stood at 169.
• 1962
• The Head Office was relocated to Ratnam's Building in Union Place, Colombo 2. 17 more branches were opened during the year.
• 1963
• The Bank commenced its Pawning Services.
• 1964
• The Co-operative Rural Banking Scheme was inaugurated.
• 1965
• Some departments of the Bank were relocated to the GCSU building in Sir Chittampalam A. Gardiner Mawatha, Colombo 2. The total number of branches increased to 48, which included new ones at Horana, Kekirawa, Padaviya, Mannar, Embilipitiya, Kahatagasdigiliya, Ragala and Talawakele.
• 1967
• The Bank commenced a new Agriculture Credit Scheme becoming the pioneer lender to the small farm sector.
• 1970
• The "Athamaru" Loan Scheme was introduced to finance economic activities of the informal sector.
• Investment Savings Scheme, a credit linked saving scheme was launched to attract regular savers.

1971 - 1990

• 1971
• The Bank's hundredth branch was opened at Marandagahamula.
• 1973
• A Regionalisation Programme commenced to decentralise the administration and provide speedy customer service. A Comprehensive Rural Credit Scheme was launched to provide both production and consumption credit facilities.
• The Bank initiated the "ganudenu" practice, identifying itself with the traditions of the Sinhala & Tamil New Year and encouraging customers to transact with the Bank at the auspicious time.
• 1975
• An aggressive branch expansion programme brought our total branch count to 158.
• 1977
• Our two hundredth branch opened at Kollupitiya. The Head Office was relocated to a 15- storeyed building at Sir Chittampalam A. Gardiner Mawatha. The total number of employees at the Bank reached 5,000. The first Fisheries Bank was opened at Koralawella.
• 1981
• Our branch network increased to 290 branches. The Extended Minor Savings Scheme was launched.
• 1982
• The three hundredth branch of the Bank opened at Ingiriya. Total number of employees reached 10,000.
• 1984
• The People's Merchant Bank, a subsidiary of the Bank, was established. Our branch at Slave Island was merged with the International Division and the Fort Foreign Branch.
• 1986
• The process of computerisation began at our Central Head Office and selected City branches and a Black Light System was also introduced. Customer turn-around time was thereby significantly reduced.
• 1987
• Our Headquarters Branch became the Bank's first fully automated branch. A Special Loan Scheme for rural electrification was implemented in collaboration with the CEB.
• 1989
• The Bank introduced a new Inland Bill Scheme for lending to the rural sector and for financing agricultural activities: The Bank participated in a loan scheme sponsored by the Ministry of Labour to provide for housing against assignment of EPF balances. The Bank launched a scheme in association with the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau to provide loans for job seekers abroad. The Bank participated in a loan scheme launched by REPIA to provide credit to those affected by civil unrest in 1983. A Janasaviya associated loan scheme was introduced during the year. The Bank commenced the issue of Negotiable Savings Certificates during the year.
• 1990
• An Endowment Savings Deposit Scheme was introduced. The People's Visa Card was introduced in association with Visa International. 24 branches were fully computerised.

1991 - 2000

2001 - 2010

• 2001
• The Bank's Corporate Management Team was strengthened by the recruitment of certain Heads of Division from the private banking sector. Restructuring of the Bank was initiated through the launch of a Strategic Plan. A New Annual Business Planning Process was implemented, to link with the Bank's Strategic Plan. The total number of ATM machines grew to 90. The Bank launched a staff Performance Incentive Scheme for Teams.
• 2002
• The number of PABS automated branches increased to 218. 119 branches were connected to Central ATM Switch. A Treasury automation package was implemented. New funds transfer pricing and new business segment profit measurement systems were introduced. Significant upgrading made to the quality of Financial MIS Reporting.
• 2003
• The Young Executive Saver's (YES) Account was launched to assist young people embarking on a career. The Bank initiated 'Deepavali' celebrations at all branches to identify with traditional customs of our large Hindu customer base. The Bank signed up with Silver lake System SDV BUD Malaysia to install a state-of-the-art Core banking package and Trade Services Solutions which initially is to be operational in 60 selected branches including Head Office. The Housing Loan product was repackaged and re-launched under the 'Jaya Nivasa' name. The new Savings Scheme titled "Visrama Suvaya" was launched for the pensioners. A Pulse Point staff action initiative scheme launched.
• 2004
• Second phase of the restructuring plan for 2004-2008 launched and approved by the Government of Sri Lanka based on the recapitalisation support of ADB. Bank obtained the first ever public rating of BBB+ from Fitch Ratings Lanka. Bank recorded a positive capital value for the first time since 1998 amplifying the turn around of the Bank. Core Banking project implemented successfully. Sisu Udana Vishishtayo, an innovative CSR project launched. Inaugural Jaya Pranama staff awards scheme held during the year. Innovative Ratasalli prize scheme launched to attract inward remittances of foreign currency into Sri Lanka. The highest ever Net Profit after Tax was achieved for the 3rd consecutive year, creating a new chapter in the Bank's history.
• 2005
• A landmark year with the 15th Chairman of the Bank Dr. PA Kiriwandeniya assuming duties at the beginning of December 2005. This was followed immediately thereafter with a receipt of LKR 2 Billion as the first tranche of Equity Capital investment in the Bank by the Government of Sri Lanka in keeping with the agreement signed between the Government, ADB and People's Bank. The Max Super deposit scheme was launched. Core-Banking project was further extended across the branch network. Further significant improvements made in the technology platform and customer services delivery facilities with 200 branches linked online for cash transactions. The Inaugural Sisu Udana Vishishtayo National awards ceremony held under the patronage of the then Prime Minister of Sri Lanka successfully completed with huge media publicity support. The Bank also was the major intermediary in bringing Government granted financial assistance for the rebuilding of lives, homes and businesses affected by the Tsunami of December 2004.
• 2006
• The Bank obtained an A-rating from Fitch Ratings Lanka Ltd. indicating a progress from its earlier Rating level.
• The on-line access to AMEX account was facilitated enabling efficient customer service by granting immediate credit on account of incoming remittances.
• People’s Bank was awarded the POP Award for 2006 in the Banking and Financial services sector by the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing.
• “The first lesson in school” was launched to inculcate the savings culture for new students entering year 1 classes where the initial deposit was matched one to one up to a maximum of LKR 500/-.
• “Nidahase Upatha” rewarded new life by giving LKR 500/- to all babies born in the first week of February.
• The second Sisu Udana Vishishtayo National Award ceremony was held under the patronage of the President of Sri Lanka in recognizing the extra curricular excellence of school children in varied fields.
• The second tranche of Equity Capital Investment of LKR 1 Billion was received from the Government of Sri Lanka under the agreement signed by the Government, ADB and the People’s Bank.
• 2007
• The 16th Chairman of the Bank Mr. W. Karunajeewa assumed duties in May 2007. The rating level of A - from Fitch Ratings was maintained during the year. The Government of Sri Lanka injected the third capital tranche of Rs 1.5 Bn into People's Bank. People's Bank won the People's Award for the Banking & Financial Services Brand of the Year for the second consecutive year. To mark its 46th Anniversary celebrations the Bank carried out a hospital development project in all parts of the country. The Bank surpassed the Rs 300 Bn mark in total deposits during the year. Highest recorded profit before tax of Rs 5 Bn was a significant achievement in 2007.
• 2008
• Mr. M. Wickremasinghe assumed office as the 1 2th CEO/General Manager of the Bank. People's Bank won the People’s Award for the third consecutive year in the Banking and Financial sector and the coveted ‘Service Brand of the Year' award for the first time by the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing. Bringing the anywhere anytime banking to its customers, the bank launched its latest service offer of Palm Top Banking to its customers.
• The Government of Sri Lanka released the forth capital tranche of Rs 1.5 Bn. The Bank reached the Capital Adequacy Level of 10.5% by the end of the year. Further, the Bank's first Debenture issue of Rs 2.5 Bn was made in the year.
• A notable advancement in the Bank’s remittance service with the introduction of ‘People’s e-Remittance’, a web-based remittance product supported by latest technology to remit money from overseas within minutes. Two new foreign currency deposit products were launched, viz., ‘Doo Daru Ethera Isura’ a foreign currency deposit product for children and ‘Special Foreign Investment Deposit Account’ [SFIDA].
• The highest recorded profit before tax of Rs 5.6 Bn was a significant achievement in 2008.
• 2009
• The 13th CEO/General Manager of the Bank
• Mr. P.V. Pathirana assumed duties in January, 2009.
• The Bank issued its second Debenture issue for Rs. 2.5 Bn during the year.
• 214 branches and 236 service centres are now connected online. The Bank has strategically placed over 300 ATM’s islandwide.
• Total deposits reached Rs. 400 Bn.
• The highest recorded profit before tax of Rs. 6.1 Bn was achieved.
• Received a SAFA (South Asian Federation of Accountants) award for the 2008 Annual Report for the first time in the Bank’s history.
• 2010
• Mr. H.S. Dharmasiri assumed office as the 14th CEO/General Manager of the Bank in October 2010.
• Branch Network and service centres expanded to 679. ATMS increased to 330. People’s International VISA Debit Card was launched in July 2010.
• The Bank obtained AA- from Fitch Rating Lanka Ltd. and AAA from Ram Ratings . Total deposits surpassed Rs. 462 Bn during the year 2010. The highest recorded profit before tax of Rs. 8.7 Bn was achieved.
• ARC International two Gold Awards to People’s Bank Annual Report held at New York.
• 2011
• Mr. N. Vasantha Kumar assumed office as the 15th CEO/General Manager of the Bank on 22nd February 2011.
• Total branch network reached 714 whilst ATM locations increased to 382 covering almost all parts of the Island.
• The Bank obtained an upgraded rating of AA (stable) from Fitch Rating Lanka Ltd. The Bank’s total assets, total deposits and total loans and advances surpassed Rs. 663 Bn, Rs. 539 Bn and Rs. 478 Bn respectively. The highest recorded profit before tax of Rs. 15.3 Bn and a profit after tax of 10.2 Bn was achieved.
• People’s bank won the SLIM-Nielsen People’s Award for the most popular bank in the Sri Lankan Banking and Financial Services Sector, SLIM-Nielsen People’s Awards - Service Brand of the Year and also won the Bronze Award for Service Category at the SLIM Brand Excellence Awards 2011.
• 2012
• Total branch network reached 728 whilst ATM locations increased to 420 covering almost all parts of the island.
• The Bank Obtained an upgraded rating of AA +(stable) from Fitch Rating Lanka Ltd.The Bank's total assets, total deposits and total loans and advances surpassed Rs. 873 Bn, Rs. 683 Bn and Rs. 660 Bn respectively.
• The Bank's 2011 Annual Report won one Grand Award and three Gold Award in the Banks: National category at 2012 international ARC Awards.
• 2013
• Mr. Gamini S. Senarath assumed duties as the 17th Chairman of the Bank in February 2013.
• 23 SME Centres: were established across the island.
• Surpassed 1 Mn cards milestone during the year with access to over 30 Mn Visa accredited merchants globally.
• Corporate customers were provided with on line real time payment facility for EPE ETF and Customs Duty.
• People': Bank became the first Bank to be connected to the National Common ATM Switch.
• ATM locations increased to 460 with the Branch Network expanding to 735.
• Rs. 5 Bn worth Debentures issued during the year at the Bank‘s Fourth Debenture issue.
• 2014
• The Bank’s asset base crossed one trillion rupees, as the second largest bank in the industry. Bank garnered the triple accolades of ‘Bank of the Year 2014’ at the European Global Banking and Finance Award - Sri Lanka 2014 as well as ‘Best Banking Group Sri Lanka’ and ‘Most Sustainable Bank Sri Lanka at the World Finance Banking Awards 2014.
• 2015
• Mr. Hemasiri Fernando assumed duties as the 18th Chairman of the Bank in February 2015
• The Bank has taken an initiative to become a fully digitized bank.
• The Bank has taken initiative to identify its customer 360 degree view of total exposure by embark on “data ware house” project to combine all its major data sources to derive this value proposition.
• The Bank has upgraded its ATM infrastructure to an enterprise strength hardware platform to strengthen its capacity, reliability and its availability to customers.
• The Bank has upgraded its Core Banking infrastructure to a state of the art hardware platform to strengthen its serviceability, increase efficiency and processing power.
• 2016
• People’s Bank recently declared open its 500th PET machine at the Military Hospital in Narahenpita
• People’s Bank has embarked on a powerful sustainability journey to measure, manage and mitigate its environmental footprint by launching a formal Environmental Sustainability Policy, called ‘People’s Green Pulse’, which will guide the institution to achieve its aspirations for a greener future through focused environmental management initiatives.
• People’s Bank YES Savings Account has been bestowed with the Gold award for ‘Service Brand of the Year’ at the SLIM Brand Excellence Awards
• People’s Bank proudly launched new logo to reflect the Bank’s evolution to keep pace with new global banking trends and to cater to fast-changing aspirations of customers on December 2016
• Accelerating its digitalization drive, People's Bank proudly launched its Self Banking Units with CDM/ATM/Kiosks
• 2017
• The Group reached new highs and etched many milestones in 2017
• Total operating income notched at Rs. 79 billion reaching an industry high. The consolidated contribution towards national economic development via taxation, special levels and dividends over the last ten years surpassed the Rs. 150.0 billion mark. Additionally, the Bank received a new capital infusion of Rs. 5.0 billion for first time in the past eight years
• The Bank witnessed many firsts in the digital and Information Technology sphere, with the opening of Sri Lanka’s first fully-digitalized branch in Colombo
• Bank was received the prestigious ISO/IEC 27001:2013 quality certification for Information Security Management. This is the world’s highest accreditation for information protection and security and the first for any State Bank in the nation
• The Bank also won multiple awards both locally and globally with a prestigious ranking of being the 400th Largest Bank in Asia as per the Asian Banker Magazine and included in the World’s Top 1000 Banks by the Banker Magazine (UK)
• 2018
• Consolidated total operating income reached an industry high of LKR 94.5 billion recording a YoY growth of 22%.
• During the year under review, the Bank was the lead financier in some of the large scale private sector infrastructure development projects. Most notable among them is the LKR 10.9 billion syndicated loan facility extended to Hayley’s for the acquisition of Singer Sri Lanka-which is the single largest transaction of a listed company in Sri Lanka in recent times.
• Further reinforcing the Bank’s dominance in the digital space, six alternative digital channels were launched during 2018 for the benefit and ease of our customers namely People’s Wave-mobile banking app, People’s Web-Internet banking portal, People’s Wiz-express banking, People’s Wyn-Internet banking and mobile app for corporate clients, RLOS-Retail Loan Origination System and CLOS- Corporate Loan Origination System. Among the many finance apps in the country, People’s wave has become the most downloaded finance app in Sri Lanka gaining an impressive 4.7 rating on Google play and is now regularly used by over 300,000 customers across the country.
• For the 12th consecutive year, the Bank was awarded the “People’s Banking Service Provider of the Year” and the “People’s Service Brand of the Year” awards at the SLIM-Nielson People’s Awards in 2018.
• The Bank also secured the top spot as “The Bank of the Year for Excellence in Customer Convenience” at the LankaPay Technnovation Awards 2018.
• Further, at the National Business Excellence Awards 2018, People’s Bank won the “Excellence in Local Market Reach” Award.
• On the global level, the Bank was once again ranked amongst the Top 1000 Banks in the World by the Banker Magazine, UK and adjudged “The Best Bank in Sri Lanka” at the European Global Banking and Finance Awards 2018.
• 2019
• The People’s Bank (Amendment) Bill was passed in Parliament in September 2019, enabling the Bank to issue debentures with relative ease to augment its regulatory capital. Post amendment, the Bank successfully raised LKR 10.0 Bn.in Basel III, Tier II compliant Debentures.
• The rollout of self banking units (SBU's) was accelerated during the past two years to reach 239 at end 2019 – a feat achieved in just three years. People’s Wave app surpassed most other similar financial apps in the country, to become one of the most downloaded finance apps in Sri Lanka, gaining an impressive ranking on Google Play Store. The success of the Bank in digital platform, is demonstrated through the numerous awards received internationally which include the Best Digital Bank 2019 by both the Asian Banker Magazine and Asia Money and being the recipient of the Best Mobile Banking Application by the Asian Banker Magazine for 2019. At the Asian Banker Financial Technology Innovation Awards 2018, People’s Bank was awarded The Best Digitization Initiative Programme.
• People’s Bank is also the first and only bank in Sri Lanka to receive the highest international accreditation for information protection and security – the ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification.
• The Bank was recognized as the Best Retail Bank in Sri Lanka and the Most Improved Retail Bank in Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa by the Asian Banker Magazine during 2019. The Asian Development Bank recognised People’s Bank as the Leading Partner Bank in Sri Lanka, for its Trade Finance operations.
• Setting the benchmark in raising funds from foreign banks, People’s Bank signed the largest ever and the longest tenor bilateral funding facility secured by any commercial bank in Sri Lanka to date. This is a clear reflection of the global recognition and confidence placed in the Bank, its governance structure, expertise and impeccable track record relating to financing complex and nationally significant projects in our Nation.
• 2020
• The Bank’s operates the largest digital footprint in Sri Lanka, and processed over LKR 1.0 Tn. in transactions via its digital channels.
• Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bank extended unparalleled support to the Nation, customers and the general public.
• People’s Bank successfully raised LKR 20.0 Bn. Tier II Debentures which is the highest-ever by the industry to-date. Was the only entity amongst the Top 3 and only state bank to have a positive incline in brand value.
• Gaining both local and international acclamation, the Bank was recognized amongst the Top 1000 Banks in the World 2020, 400 largest banks in Asia, recognized as the Best Digitized Bank in Sri Lanka and as the Most Admired Company in Sri Lanka by the International Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka and Chartered Institute of Management Sri Lanka (CIMA).
• The People’s Bank Annual Report was accorded the Best in Sri Lanka at the International ARC Awards 2020.
• 2021
• Bank celebrated its 60th Anniversary with the new motto, “Pride of the Nation” as our refrain for the future.
• People’s Wiz, has recorded the onboarding of 1.7 million customers.
• People’s Wave, has become the country’s most downloaded banking app with over one million active users. Taking innovation to the next level, bank introduced People's Pay Wallet app
• People’s Bank also became the first and only bank in Sri Lanka to be accredited with the ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification; the highest international accreditation for information protection and security.
• “Best Digital Bank.” and “Best Retail Bank in Sri Lanka” Asian Banker Excellence in Retail Financial Services International Awards 2021.
• Amongst Top 10 Most Admired Companies in Sri Lanka in 2021 by CIMA, ICCSL and the Daily FT.
• The Top 10 Women Friendly Workplaces in Sri Lanka at the first ever Women Friendly Workplace Awards (WFW) in 2021.
• SLIM Nielsen People’s Award 2021 for being the Service Provider of the year.
• “Best Domestic Bank in Sri Lanka” and “Best Digital Bank in Sri Lanka” at the World Finance and International Business Magazine Awards.
• Banker Magazine ranked us amongst the world’s “Top 1000 Banks” for the fourth consecutive year.