The Bank of Ceylon (BOC), continues to lead the industry as the No.1 Banking Brand in the country for the 14th consecutive year in the country’s leading Brands Billboard “Brand Finance Lanka’s – Brand Annual” for the year 2022. Standing resilient as ever, Bank of Ceylon is the only Banking brand to surpass a brand value over Rs. 50 billion.
Revolving around Sri Lankan aspirations, ensuring financial security and building confidence within the community to venture into new opportunities, BOC has been a resilient partner throughout its existence to date. With a unique depth of perception of the socio-economic landscape, BOC successfully managed to reach all segments of Sri Lankan society by promoting financial inclusivity specially to include those who are not within the mainstream banking system.
Commenting on the achievement the Chairman, Mr. Kanchana Ratwatte stated “BOC as an established indigence brand with roots running deeply into Sri Lankan heritance, always had so much gratitude on the trust placed on the brand by all its stakeholders. The resilience BOC has shown as the leading banking brand in the country is built through sheer commitment and dedication sustained over many decades based solely on the purpose to serve our people. During this time of unimaginable crisis, our promise goes to all our fellow Sri Lankans that, we at BOC will remain as the trusted financial partner and will strive towards improving the economic wellbeing of the nation as always. My humble appreciation goes to everyone who has been in this journey together with BOC at this juncture” he adds.
“I consider BOC, being named as the No.1 Banking Brand for 14 consecutive years as an unprecedented achievement. We wish to take this opportunity to thank and extend our gratitude to our loyal customers and all stakeholders for inspiring and encouraging us to strive towards excellence at all times. Meeting the evolving demands of our community we assure our customers and the country that the Bank will always move forward fulfilling the agenda to serve our people as we have always done,” stated the Bank’s General Manager, Mr. K. E. D. Sumanasiri.
A brand that grew over time as a responsible corporate citizen that resonated with the aspirations of Sri Lankans from all walks-of-lives, BOC counts is presence in all parts of the country with an interconnected network of over 640 branches and over 1400 ATM/CDMs and CRMs enabling 24x7 banking services.
With the view to increasing its footprint beyond Sri Lanka, BOC established its very first overseas branch in as early as 1949 in London, which was later converted to a fully-fledged banking subsidiary of BOC. Later the bank expanded its overseas branch network by opening units in Chennai, India, Male, Hulhu-Male and in Seychelles.
Empowered by the trust built over many decades in collaboration with the international banking community, Bank of Ceylon currently maintains foreign correspondent relationships with over 1,000 foreign banks and exchange houses.
BOC embarked on its digital transformation journey as early as 2007 by transforming its entire branch network and ATM network to an interconnected system which further empowered its customer base with the convenience of 24x7 banking from anywhere in the country. The Bank also adopted a full-scale online and mobile banking platform to enable cashless transactions, adding synergy to the local banking industry, which in turn became of paramount importance in keeping the country’s economy moving.
Growing in leaps and bounds, BOC’s balance sheet as at March 2022, recorded over Rs. 4 trillion in assets, Rs. 3.1 trillion in deposits and Rs. 2.4 trillion in its loan book, in addition to its operational capacity and reach. Due to its solid financial standing gained over eight decades of successful operation, the Bank is the trusted finance partner for infrastructure development projects that are of significant importance to the country. In addition to investing in socially responsible projects, BOC’s profits as a state institution are always invested back to the nation and its people.
In response to the most pressing need of the economy, BOC strategically facilitates the recovery of much needed foreign currency inflow, through its strong foreign representative network stationed where high volume of expatriate foreign remittances generated. The Bank ensures a seamless and secured transactions over the banking system to intended beneficiaries. BOC has even gone a step further by introducing a special incentive scheme encouraging expatriates to remit through the legit banking system.
Reflecting on the proud journey of eight decades, BOC proudly continues to live up to its responsibility to the Sri Lankan community in multifaceted ways. Apart from reaching key financial and operational milestones as the leading commercial bank in the country, the Bank also strongly delivers on its corporate social responsibility. Among such initiatives are its commitment towards the betterment of environment and social aspects and upholding the principles of good governance.
BOC’s gradual transformation towards ‘Green Banking’ went hand-in-hand with its digital adoption, exploring opportunities in technology that would facilitate incorporation of products and service delivery while staying committed to reducing its carbon footprint. The Bank has successfully incorporated United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as blueprint along with its sustainability policy to measure its progress over time.
Bank of Ceylon, as the premier financial services entity in Sri Lanka, was awarded the coveted title of “Bank of the Year 2021 – Sri Lanka” by The Banker Magazine U.K. The prestigious award was bestowed in recognition of the Bank’s contribution to uplifting the lives of all Sri Lankans, while fulfilling its duty as the premier state bank. This award adds yet another title to the multi-award-winning bank that has been listed in the Top 1,000 Banks in the World ranking, consecutively since 2012, with a country ranking of No. 1, by “The Banker” magazine, UK.
“LankaPay Technnovation Awards 2022” honoured Bank of Ceylon as a ‘Digital Superhero’ by awarding it the “Overall Gold Award” for Excellence in Interbank Digital Payments. Bank of Ceylon ensures the continuity of its contribution to the socio-economic empowerment of all Sri Lankans through the banking system and continues to deliver its best towards the socio-economic development of the country.
