Damith Pallewatte

Damith Pallewatte is the current Deputy General Manager of the Wholesale Banking Group at Hatton National Bank. Prior to this, they served as the Chief Risk Officer at Nations Trust Bank PLC from March 2003 to November 2015. In this role, they were responsible for identifying material risks, formulating a coherent risk appetite statement, and ensuring the bank’s compliance with the latest risk management frameworks. Damith also served on various committees, including the Board Credit Committee, the Asset Liability Management Committee, and the Investment Committee.

Pallewatte began their career in the banking sector in 1993 at Hatton National Bank PLC, where they held various positions in credit risk management and treasury operations. Damith then joined Acuity Securities Ltd in 2001 as a Research Analyst. In 2002, they moved to Acuity Partners (Pvt) Limited as a Senior Consultant before joining Credit Information Bureau of Sri Lanka in 2003.

Pallewatte holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the University of Colombo and is a Fellow member of the Institute of Bankers in Sri Lanka.

Damith Pallewatte completed their MBA at the Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM). Damith also holds a Bachelor of Science in Management (Hons) from the University of London and a certification from the CIMA in Fellow Member. Additionally, they have certifications from the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP) in Sustainability and Climate Risk (SCR) and Certified Financial Risk Manager (FRM), as well as an ACI Operations Certificate from ACI UK-The Financial Markets Association.

Damith Pallewatte reports to Jonathan Alles, CEO. They are on a team with Majella Rodrigo - Assistant General Manager – Corporate Banking, L Chiranthi Cooray - Chief Transformation Officer, and Dilshan Rodrigo - Chief Operations Officer.