CDB’s AI-powered decision-making system earns national recognition

• Award-winning innovation reshapes credit evaluation, deepens financial inclusion and reinforces CDB’s tech-first strategy

Citizens Development Business Finance PLC (CDB) continues to earn national recognition for its trailblazing AI-powered credit decision-making system, winning Silver in the Digital Transformation Project of the Year Category at CIMA - JXG Pinnacle Awards 2025. 

Marking the second major accolade for the project, given the award won last year at National ICT Awards NBQSA 2024, this Silver underscores the consistent excellence and impact of CDB’s digital innovation journey.

The award-winning system, developed entirely in-house, draws on CRIB data through direct API integration, offering real-time access to critical credit information. By harnessing advanced AI algorithms, it evaluates a broad spectrum of data to generate highly accurate credit assessments. This is further reinforced with an AI-powered vehicle valuation module, which determines the collateral value of vehicles – a key asset in vehicle-based credit decisions. The result is a credit decision-making model that is informed, swift, reliable and rooted in robust asset understanding.

“This AI model is an essential pillar of our future-forward credit assessment strategy,” said Director Business Operations Dave De Silva. “With AI evolving rapidly and competition intensifying across financial services, our aim is to deliver unmatched service through speed and precision in credit decision-making – setting new standards for customer experiences. Importantly, the system has been instrumental in the successful implementation of risk-based pricing, enabling data-driven differentiation of customer risk profiles – ensuring credit is priced accurately and fairly.”

General Manager Credit Sudath Fernando compares tangible advantages over traditional manual approval methods. 

“We have seen improvements in credit quality, reduced default risk and expanded business capacity. With branch staff receiving credit decisions and recommended pricing on their mobile phones, they can now approve credit facilities virtually from wherever they are, under central oversight. This empowers our teams to make sound and consistent decisions, significantly reduces human bias and enhances compliance with regulatory standards.”