Nihal Welikala to retire from NDB Bank

The Chairman and Board of National Development Bank Plc (NDB) this week announced the retirement of its Chief Executive Officer Nihal Welikala, and the appointment of Eran Wickramaratne to this post, with effect from April 1.

Welikala joined the former National Development Bank of Sri Lanka in 1999 and became Chief Executive Officer in 2002. During this period, and under his leadership as Chief Executive Officer, NDB successfully completed an unprecedented and complex transformation from development to universal bank, while building solid financial strengths, and positioning the Group for further expansion. He was previously the Chief Executive Officer of Citibank NA Colombo. Eran Wickramaratne, former Chief Executive Officer of NDB Bank Limited, and present Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the merged National Development Bank Plc takes over responsibility for the NDB Group consequent to a planned transition.

He joined NDB in April 1999 and has been closely associated with the transformation of the bank from its project finance roots to building a commercial and retail business. He was previously Vice President and Corporate Bank Head, Citibank.