51067 - SLGP CBC RSF

Who We Are
Who We Are

IFC is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries. By encouraging growth, IFC advances economic development, creates jobs and improves the lives of people.
More About Us
About IFC

Our Leadership

Development Partners
Accountability

Learn more about accountability
Annual Report

Download the Report
What We Do
What We Do

IFC advances economic development and improves the lives of people by encouraging the growth of the private sector in developing countries. We achieve this by investing in impactful projects, mobilizing other investors, and sharing expertise.
What We Do Overview
SOLUTIONS

Our products and services
OUR PRIORITIES

Climate Business

Fragile & Conflict Afflicted Situations

Gender

Mobilizing Private Capital

Sustainability
SECTORS & EXPERTISE

Agribusiness & Forestry

Creative Industries

Education

Financial Institutions

Funds

Health

Infrastructure

Manufacturing

Public-Private Partnerships

Tourism, Retail & Property

Trade & Supply Chain Finance

Venture Capital

Working Upstream
Where We Work
Where We Work

As the largest global development institution focused on the private sector, IFC operates in more than 100 countries around the globe. We apply lessons learned in one region to solve problems in another.
Overview
By Region

Africa

East Asia and Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

Middle East and Central Asia

South Asia
Our Impact
Our Impact

Our impact improves lives. IFC brings a clear set of advantages to the world’s most challenging markets. Including a history of innovation, a global mandate, and a determination to achieve measurable development impact.
Our Impact Overview
PRINCIPLES & MEASUREMENT

Impact Investing at IFC

Measuring and Monitoring (AIMM)

Evaluation

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Owned by 186 member countries and consistently rated AAA/Aaa. IFC aims to achieve our mission of promoting development by providing debt and equity to the private sector, through a range of benchmark and bespoke products.

For Partners

For Investors

Get in Touch

Summary of Investment Information

Project Number

51067

Company Name

CBC RSF

Date SPI Disclosed

Nov 7, 2025

Country

Sri Lanka

Region

South Asia

Projected Board Date

Dec 8, 2025

Environmental Category

FI-2 - Limited

Status

Pending Disbursement

Last Updated Date

Jan 17, 2026

Department

Regional Industry - FIG Asia & Pac

Industry

Financial Markets

Previous Events

Approved : Dec 9, 2025
Signed : Dec 19, 2025

Sector

Commercial Banking - Risk Mgmt Facility

Additional Project Attributes

Blended Finance

Project Description

The proposed project consists of an unfunded Risk Sharing Facility (RSF) of up to US$30 million Sri Lankan Rupee (LKR) equivalent maximum IFC risk amount, representing 50 percent of an up to US$60 million LKR equivalent of small and medium enterprises (SME) loan portfolio to be originated by Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC (CBC or the Bank). The Project will support the Bank's lending to SMEs, including agriculture SMEs (Agri-SMEs) and women-owned SMEs (WSMEs). The RSF is expected to have a facility life of up to 8 years inclusive of a ramp-up period of up to 3 years. The Project would be processed under IFC's Small Loans Guarantee Program (SLGP), a programmatic approach to de-risking and scaling-up financing for SMEs in eligible countries.

Associated Advisory Engagement

IFC will provide complimentary advisory support embedded in the RSF aimed at helping the Bank effectively deploy the RSF through training and to build capacity of their SMEs.

Sponsor / Cost / Location

Product Line	IFC Investment (million USD)
Risk Management
Guarantee	30.0
Loan
Equity

IFC's loan to the financial institution described in this SII is targeted for on-lending to the following sector(s):

Product Type	Use of Proceeds
Guarantee	Loans to SME Borrowers

IFC's Definitions of Targeted Sectors can be found here.

Development Impact

Stakeholder Effect- Increased access to finance for SMEs especially in the agriculture sector: Financial Institutions (FIs) are reluctant to fund the agriculture sector due to the high risks related to weather variability, commodity price volatility and the FIs' lack of knowledge needed to extend financing to this sector. Market Creation- Competitiveness: IFC anticipates that via innovation, demonstration, and replication channels, the RSF Program will promote greater competitiveness in the financial sector by encouraging other FIs to scale up their SME portfolios, including Agri SMEs.

IFC anticipates that the proposed Project will provide both financial and non-financial additionality. Financial additionality will be provided through: (i) Financing Structure: this will be derived from IFC’s provision of a relatively new financing product in Sri Lanka and not readily available in the market on commercially viable terms; (ii) Resource Mobilization: Under IFC’s Core Mobilization Procedures, the amount of new financing to CBC's clients mobilized by the guarantee qualify as core mobilization. Non-financial additionality will be provided through Knowledge, Innovation, and Capacity Building as IFC assists CBC in de-risking its new business in SME, WSME and Agri sector. Further, advisory services are being contemplated to accompany the proposed RSF.

Indicator	Metrics	Comments	Calendar Year 2022	Calendar Year 2023	Calendar Year 2024
Agri as a share of reference MSME loan portfolio	%	%	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available
Number of Outstanding Loans, Agri: SMEs	number	This is a WBG Corporate Scorecard Indicator	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available
Number of Outstanding Loans, SMEs	number	it is a WBG Corporate Scorecard Indicator	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available
Number of Outstanding Loans, Women-led SMEs	number	this is a WBG Corporate Scorecard Indicator	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available
Number of additional banks adopting de-risking mechanisms such as RSFs	#	Number of banks	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available
SME share of total loan portfolio	%	%	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available
Value of Outstanding Loans, Agri: SMEs	$	value input in US$ millions	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available
Value of Outstanding Loans, SMEs	$	Figures input in US$ millions	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available
Value of Outstanding Loans, Women-led SMEs	$	number input in US$ millions	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available

E&S Category Rationale / Risks and Mitigation

The Bank is involved in providing long and medium-term financing to corporates, and MSMEs by way of working capital, term loans, and to lesser extent project and structured finance. It also provides several short-term products as well as non-funded products like bank guarantees. The Bank has limited exposure to companies operating in high-risk E&S sectors such as power, transmission, telecom, hospitality, large scale construction. The project entails an unfunded Risk Sharing Facility to support Commercial Bank of Ceylon (CBC) to enhance its lending to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), particularly agriculture SMEs and women-owned SMEs. The SME asset class comprises entities engaged in manufacturing (food and beverage, tea factories, hardware/building material, apparel, textile and wood industry), commercial/wholesale business (hardware/building material, commercial vehicles, spare tyres, textiles, pharma retail and supermarkets), import business (vehicle and machinery spare imports, hardware/tile/cement/building material, private/commercial vehicle imports, pharma and electronics imports), export business (tea based products, coconut based products, fabric/textiles, and cinnamon exports) and tourism (local resorts/hotels and restaurants) and transport/storage (warehouses, coastal transport and freight forwarding). Most of these SME sectors pose limited E&S risks and impacts which can be identified and mitigants designed in line with applicable laws and good industry practices. The typical E&S risks include labor and working conditions, supply chain risk related to labor, gender-based violence and harassment, and biodiversity (e.g., in the agribusiness segment), air emissions, waste management, and handling of hazardous materials, in the SME borrower’s operations. SMEs involved in any activities on the IFC Exclusion List, or higher risk business activities that may involve involuntary resettlement, risk of adverse impacts on indigenous peoples, significant risks to or impacts on the environment, community health and safety, biodiversity, cultural heritage, risk of retrenchment, or significant occupational health and safety risks will not be eligible for inclusion in the RSF. Further, any utility scale solar power project, any coal related activities, or any financial institution will also be ineligible for RSF. Hence, the E&S risk of the proposed investment is considered medium, and the Project is categorized as FI-2 according to IFC's Policy on Environmental and Social Sustainability. The applicable performance requirements will be i) the IFC- FI Exclusion List; and ii) the relevant national E&S laws and regulations as applicable to the SMEs.

CBC has an E&S risk management system (ESMS) which aligns with IFC Performance Standard 1, and adequate HR policy and procedures generally in line with IFC Performance Standard 2 requirements. The bank follows applicable fire safety regulations across its premises. The Bank has a specialist environmental and social officer responsible for overall E&S risk management. The ESMS covers complete guidance on exclusion list screening, due-diligence (including use of external consultants as per need), E&S categorization, drafting of E&S corrective actions, and agreeing those as part of legal documentation. Necessary tools, checklists, TORs are also included. An external communications mechanism (ECM) is also provided for receiving complaint and grievances from third parties adversely affected by projects financed by the bank. The current ESMS is adequate for this RSF. IFC will periodically supervise the client at the FI level.

Contacts

For Inquiries About the Project, Contact

Commercial Bank of Ceylon
Prasanna Indrajith
Chief Financial Officer
+94 (0) 11 2486550
prasanna_indrajith@combank.net
Commercial House No. 21, Sir Razik Fareed Mawatha, P.O. Box 856, Colombo 01, Sri Lanka
www.combank.lk

For Inquiries and Comments About IFC, Contact

General IFC Inquiries
IFC Communications
2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington DC 20433
Telephone: 202-473-3800
Fax: 202-974-4384

IFC supports its clients in addressing environmental and social issues arising from their business activities by requiring its real sector clients to set up and administer appropriate grievance mechanisms and/or procedures to address complaints from Affected Communities in relation to environmental and social issues arising from IFC's clients' business activities. Since 2012, IFC's Financial Intermediary clients applying the Performance Standards are required to develop External Communications Mechanisms to receive and review inquiries or complaints from any interested party regarding the E&S risks and impacts of their operations.

For IFC projects that are active or under consideration, individual(s), or their authorized representative(s), who allege they have been or will be adversely affected by E&S risks or impacts arising from IFC's clients' business activities, may submit a complaint to IFC directly for consideration. When receiving an E&S complaint, IFC engages with complainants and works with its clients to find solutions to E&S concerns as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Complaints can be submitted to IFC online at www.ifc.org/escomplaints or by email to EScomplaints@ifc.org.

IFC complaint response is separate from and complementary to IFC’s clients’ project level grievance mechanisms and IFC’s Independent Accountability Mechanism (CAO). Lodging a complaint directly with IFC does not, at any time, restrict access to CAO.

Affected communities have unrestricted access to the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), the independent accountability mechanism for IFC and MIGA. CAO facilitates the resolution of complaints related to IFC and MIGA projects and sub-projects, undertakes reviews of IFC’s and MIGA’s environmental and social compliance, fosters public accountability for their commitments, and enhances the environmental and social performance of IFC and MIGA.

Independent of IFC and MIGA management and reporting directly to the IFC and MIGA Boards of Executive Directors, CAO helps resolve issues raised about the environmental and social impacts of projects through a neutral, collaborative, problem-solving approach via its Dispute Resolution function. It also reviews IFC’s and MIGA’s compliance with environmental and social policies, assesses related harm, and recommends remedial actions through its Compliance function. Additionally, CAO provides advice to IFC, MIGA, and their Boards to enhance environmental and social sustainability performance and minimize the risk of harm.

Complaints may relate to environmental and social harm regarding any aspect of the planning, implementation, or impact of a project or sub-project, and can be made by any individual, group, community, entity, or other party affected or likely to be affected by the environmental or social impacts of an IFC- or MIGA-financed business activity.

Complaints can be submitted by any of the following methods:

Online form: available at https://www.cao-ombudsman.org/
Mail/Hand Delivery to: 2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA
Voice mail: +1 202 458 1973
Email: cao@worldbankgroup.org
SMS, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal: +1 202 650 2627

CAO receives and addresses complaints in accordance with the CAO Policy, which can be accessed at: https://www.cao-ombudsman.org/policies-guidelines.

This Summary of Investment Information (SII) is prepared by IFC to disclose a factual summary of the main elements of the potential investment. It also includes findings and recommendations related to environmental and social considerations regarding this potential investment. The purpose of the SII is to enhance the transparency of IFC’s activities. For any project documentation or data included or attached herein, whether prepared by the project sponsor or otherwise, authorization has been given for public release by the project sponsor. IFC considers that this SII is of adequate quality for release to the public, but has not necessarily independently verified all of the project information therein. It is distributed in advance of IFC Board of Directors’ consideration and may be periodically updated thereafter. Board dates are estimates only and this document should not be construed as presuming the outcome of the Board Directors’ decision. The following SII is disclosed in accordance with IFC's Access to Information Policy (AIP) that went into effect on January 1, 2012.

The map is for illustrative purposes and does not imply the expression of any opinion on the part of the World Bank, concerning the legal status of any country or territory or concerning the delimitation of frontiers or boundaries. Country borders or names do not necessarily reflect the World Bank Group's official position. In some cases, available project location information is limited to the country of the project's activities. Locations are approximate.

Projects

Summary of Investment Information

Project Description

Associated Advisory Engagement

Sponsor / Cost / Location

Development Impact

E&S Category Rationale / Risks and Mitigation

Similar Projects

Contacts

Projects

Summary of Investment Information

Project Description

Associated Advisory Engagement

Sponsor / Cost / Location

Project Sponsor and Major Shareholders of Project Company

Total Project Cost and Amount and Nature of IFC's Investment

Blended Finance

IFC's Investment as Approved by the Board

FIG Use of Proceeds/Beneficiaries

Location of Project and Description of Site

Development Impact

Anticipated Impact Measurement & Monitoring (AIMM) Assessment

Governance Risk Assessment

IFC's Role and Additionality

Development Results

E&S Category Rationale / Risks and Mitigation

Environmental & Social Categorization Rationale / Key Risks & Potential Impacts

Environmental & Social Management System (ESMS)

Mitigation Measures / Environmental & Social Action Plan (ESAP)

Press-Release

Related Environmental Document

Similar Projects

Contacts

Information on E&S Complaints and Grievance Mechanisms

Disclaimer