RDB Bank Appoints New Directors to Drive Development Mandate 📈

The state-owned Regional Development Bank (RDB) has strengthened its leadership team with two high-profile appointments to its Board of Directors, aimed at enhancing financial inclusion and supporting SME entrepreneurs. • New Appointments & Expertise Asoka Bandara (Independent/Non-Executive): Effective Oct 2025. Over 40 years of experience in consumer goods (FMCG), dairy value chains, and corporate strategy. Formerly at Nestlé, Delmege Forsyth, and currently at Maliban. Wasanthe Nandasiri (Independent/Non-Executive): Effective Nov 2025. A Fellow Chartered Accountant with 20+ years in banking, financial services, and multi-country operations. Former senior lead at Ernst & Young. • Strategic Focus Areas Governance & Transformation: Integration of advanced risk management, treasury oversight, and large-scale ERP implementations. Sector Synergy: Leveraging Bandara’s leadership in the dairy and confectionery sectors to align bank lending with national industrial growth. Institutional Sustainability: Focus on long-term value creation and business restructuring to fulfill the bank's development mandate. • Key Professional Backgrounds Bandara: President of All-Island Dairy Association; former Director at People’s Leasing and Litro Gas. Nandasiri: Expertise in audit, valuation, and business transformation across South Asia and emerging markets. The move signals a push for professionalized management within state-backed development finance institutions to better serve the agricultural and manufacturing sectors.